


To Fight Monsters

by Nightfoot



Series: To Fight Monsters [1]
Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: M/M, Mystery, Police Procedural, Post-Game, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-11 20:06:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 104,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17453420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightfoot/pseuds/Nightfoot
Summary: A string of murders has left Zaphias in fear, and Flynn finds himself drawn into a deeply personal investigation that will test his resolve like nothing before.





	1. Blood in the Morning

**Author's Note:**

> This is a really old fic that's been up on FFN for... 5 years?! Wow it's been a while. I'm finally getting around to uploading it over here as well. Do note that considering the age of this fic, I'd like to request you hold off on any constructive criticism. I've already reflected on changes I would have made in the past 5 years. I might edit things a bit as I go through the chapters to upload. 
> 
> The M rating is due to violence/gore (typical of what you'd expect in a R-rated thriller about a serial killer) and moderate sexual content. So, please enjoy!

Flynn woke up slowly and put off opening his eyes right away. It was his day off, and thus the one day a week he didn't have to rush around getting ready for work. He just wanted to lie here in his cozy bed forever and never have to go to work again. Unfortunately, the sun had better ideas. He'd foolishly left his curtains open just enough to let a band of sunlight stream through his window and hit his pillow with pinpoint accuracy.

With a groan, he rolled over and buried his face into his pillow, determined to ignore the sun. Getting up to close the window would mean getting out of bed, and at that point he might as well just stay up. He squeezed his eyes tighter, but the beam of light warmed the back of his head. It was no use - he was going to have to close the window. With a heavy sigh that turned into a yawn, he opened his eyes and rolled out of bed.

He was just about to put his foot down when he noticed the carcass. Flynn jerked his foot back and his stomach turned. There were certain things he wasn't ready to see first thing in the morning, and a dead squirrel was one of them. With a frustrated groan, he hopped out of bed and yelled, "Kat!" Not surprisingly, she didn't come running. Sometimes Flynn missed Repede.

Flynn, barefoot and pyjama-clad, stumbled out of his bedroom and down the short hall to the stairs. He'd lived in the castle after first becoming commandant, but once he got his first paycheck and realized that for the first time in his life he had the means to live in his own home, he'd bought a small place on the upper edge of the public quarter. He'd lived here for about five months now, and though it did mean a fifteen minute walk to work, it was a small sacrifice for having his own place and not dealing with the castle's formality at all hours of the day.

"Kat," he called again, stomping downstairs. Still no sign of her. Grumbling something incoherent about mornings, days off, and things he didn't have time for, he arrived in the kitchen and finally found the subject of his displeasure.

A white and orange cat sat on his kitchen table, calmly grooming her paws. She glanced up when he emerged, and then immediately went back to licking herself.

Flynn glared at her. "Kat, what have I told you about bringing me 'presents'?"

She ignored him. Of course. Repede at least had the decency to bark in agreement to let you know he understood what you meant. Yawning again, Flynn shuffled to the table and slumped into a chair. "You're not supposed to be on the table, either," he grumbled.

Yuri still said it was a mistake taking in a cat. He'd found her napping on his front step a few months back and took pity on her. The plan was to take care of her until he could find a proper owner, but somehow that had never happened. At first he'd just called her 'cat' because he was terrible at naming things and wasn't planning on keeping her, but then the name kind of stuck. He'd quickly tried to stop Yuri from laughing by explaining that Katrina was a legitimate name, but he and Yuri both knew he had basically named her Cat because he was a supremely uncreative person.

"I have to go clean up a dead squirrel on my day off now." He rested his chin on his crossed arms. "I hope you're happy with yourself."

She meowed in such a way Flynn got the feeling she really  _was_  happy with herself for putting him through this chore. It was a good thing she was adorable, or else Flynn would have thrown her out on the street months ago.

He was about to get up and make breakfast, because this was a good excuse to put off cleaning up the squirrel, when someone knocked on his door. He glanced at the direction of his door with a frown. It couldn't be any of his friends, because he didn't have any in this city. His frowned deepened as he thought about that, because it sounded really sad. Actually, Lady Estellise had gone on a trip with Yuri and Brave Vesperia was off doing their thing, so it really was just a matter of all his friends being out of town for now.

It couldn't be someone from the Knights, either, because this was his day off. Sodia had been the one to adamantly insist he take at least one day off each week, and that he wasn't to be bothered with anything unless it was an emergency.

Expecting a door-to-door salesman, Flynn patted Kat on the head and went to the door. To his surprise and dread, when he opened it he found Sodia. If finding him in his pyjamas bothered her, she didn't say so.

"What's the situation?" Flynn asked immediately, his face turning serious. If Sodia was here on his day off, there had to be something major.

"There's been a murder, sir," she said.

"Who?"

"We haven't identified the victim yet."

With one hand still on the door, Flynn said, "I'm sorry to hear about this, but honestly I don't think this is an issue I need to be involved with. Get the local squad to identify the victim and investigate the murder as they would any other."

"Sir, I know it's your day off, but I really think you're going to want to see this one."

Flynn's frown deepened at her clearly uncomfortable expression. Sodia was not a squeamish person. He'd seen her in enough battles to know that a simple murder victim wouldn't throw out of sorts like this. He had no idea what he was going to find at the crime scene, but he already dreaded it. He sighed. "Give me ten minutes. I need to get dressed and feed my cat and we can head out."

Sodia didn't talk on their way to the crime scene. This left Flynn the entirety of his imagination to try to figure out what kind of murder they could be dealing with that was so atrocious it demanded the commandant himself to get involved. By the time they neared the scene, he was half expected a flayed, drawn, quartered, and burned corpse and was starting to wonder if this was his cosmic punishment for making such a big deal about a simple squirrel carcass.

Sodia led him through the public quarter to Finch Street, a narrow road that curved along the edge of the lower quarter. Flynn had never been too fond of the people on Finch Street. He and Yuri used to come up here sometimes, but he still remembered the dirty looks they'd been given. More than once they'd been yelled at, told to leave, or even had buckets of water tossed at them. At least, Flynn  _hoped_  it had been water. The Finch Street residents looked down on the lower quarter even more than nobles did, simply because once you lived on Finch Street there was nobody else to look down. The lower quarter was the only place lower on the social ladder than them, so they clung to that dredge of superiority with all they had.

Even with his general dislike of Finch Street residents, he was still sickened when they finally reached the crime scene. This woman might look down on his home, but nobody deserved what had happened to her. Knights had already roped off the narrow alley where she'd been found and stood in a ring around it to keep people from getting close. They let Flynn through the moment the saw him, but he almost wished they'd hadn't.

The victim was a woman, probably in her mid-twenties. She lay on her back with her arms spread out, palms up. She wore a ripped and dirty skirt which was already red so it hid the bloodstains well. She was shirtless from the waist up, but there was little cause for titillation because her chest had been sliced open from her collarbone to her stomach. Internal organs lay around her, still attached, like they'd been carelessly dug out and tossed aside. A deep gash crossed her throat, and her pale face wore an expression of surprise. Flynn hoped this meant she'd been killed suddenly and hadn't been vivisected.

"I know murders aren't typically something the commandant involves himself with," Sodia said quietly, "but I thought you'd want to see this."

"Yes," Flynn said in a low voice. "I see what you mean." He was suddenly grateful she'd got to him before he had a chance to eat breakfast. "What's on her arms?" He approached and crouched next to her right arm. Thin bloody cuts had been scored into the pale flesh. Flynn squinted; it was hard to make out through the blood smeared around the wounds. "It looks like writing." He tried to make out what the letters were. M… J… F… he shook his head. There were five letters, but MJFWY didn't mean anything to him.

He stood and looked to the gathered knights. Everyone wore matching distasteful expressions and no one really wanted to look at the victim. As the biggest city in the world, murder was hardly something the knights who patrolled the local streets were unfamiliar with. Finding someone cut open with their intestines painting the road was in a league of its own, though. Flynn couldn't let his men see that the gruesome scene was getting to him, too, though. He kept his voice firm and asked, "When was she found?"

"Around dawn, sir," one of the knights said. "She was found by a Mrs. Sharon Clarke, who owns the cobbler's shop next door."

"She didn't hear anything last night?" He found it hard to believe this woman wouldn't have screamed.

The knight shook his head. "She didn't say she did."

Flynn turned back to the corpse, scanning for any other clue. He would need to examine all the evidence more closely once a proper report was written up, but they'd only have the fresh scene for a limited time.

"I don't think she was killed here," Sodia said. "All things considered, there's not enough blood."

Flynn was about to argue, because there was enough blood that it ran in streams between the cobbles, all the way to the round sewer grate a few feet from her head where it pooled in a ring. On second thought, he saw what she meant. Her entire chest and abdominal cavity had been ripped open, so if that had happened here, the entire ground would be slicked with blood. This was blood that had leaked from her throat and oozed off the scattered organs. "You're probably right. She was killed elsewhere and moved here. Whoever did this obviously wasn't interested in keeping the murder hidden, though, or she wouldn't be splayed out like this just off the street."

"I was thinking the same thing, sir," Sodia said.

Flynn tore his eyes away from the awful scene to speak to Sodia. "Thank you for showing me this. I'm going home now, but I want a full report delivered to my house as soon as it's available."

Sodia nodded once. "Of course, sir."

* * *

Flynn tried to enjoy his day off by relaxing on the couch and reading a book, but every time his mind drifted he thought about that horrible scene. He didn't think seeing a woman's lungs ripped out of her chest was something he would ever get used to. He had to keep himself busy, so he cleaned the house. Somehow, cat hair had managed to coat almost every surface so a thorough cleaning took several hours and gave him enough of a distraction.

"It's rather rude of you to just sit there, considering it's your fur I'm cleaning up," Flynn said while wiping down the coffee table. Kat perched on the back of the couch, watching him. Off to the side of the couch was the lonely cat tree he'd bought for her months ago. It was around this point that Yuri said he was getting obsessed, but once he'd decided to keep her, he wanted to do things properly. Kat had thanked him by checking it out once and then deciding the back of the sofa was much more comfortable and had ignored it ever since.

The door knocked, and he froze mid-wipe. That must be Sodia with the report. He wearily got to his feet; no more pushing aside the grim case with cleaning. It was time to get to work.

Sodia didn't come to his house when he was off work very often, because she respected the sacredness of his day off even more than he did, so now that she was over the shock of this morning she was able to be a bit surprised to find him wearing loose brown pants and a plain shirt, his feet bare and his hair still not properly combed (not that combing it usually made much of a difference). Flynn could count on one hand the number of times he'd met with her out of uniform.

"Here is the report you requested, sir." She handed him a manila folder with a carefully passive face.

"Thank you. Have you made any advancements?"

"We've identified the victim as Victoria Muller. Twenty-five years old, unemployed. We're interviewing friends and family now to see if she might have had any enemies."

Flynn flipped through the folder without really reading anything. "It would have to be a pretty serious enemy to do that to her."

"Indeed. Do you have anything else you need me to do today, sir?"

Flynn shook his head. "No. I'll look over this and hopefully we can make some headway tomorrow. Gather as much information as you can."

"Very good, sir. Enjoy your day off."

After she left, Flynn slumped onto his couch. "Not much of a day off," he muttered to Kat. "First I had to clean up a dead squirrel, and now this." With a sigh, he spread the contents of the folder across the coffee table. Someone had made detailed sketches of the victim from several angles, and Flynn admired the artist's nerve for getting close enough to draw in all those awful details.

"All right, here's what we know." Talking things over usually helped him think, and since Estelle and Yuri were out of town, Kat would have to do. Kat actually served that purpose quite frequently, and if she minded being a furry sounding board for him, she had yet to lodge a complaint. "Victoria Muller left her parents' home last night at eight to meet her boyfriend, James Kingston. She then spent four hours at his house before leaving around midnight, but she never made it home. Mr. Kingston was interviewed by the Knights. He is, naturally, our top suspect but other than being the last person to see her alive, there's nothing tying him to the crime. His landlady heard Victoria leave at midnight, and says she would have heard if he went out after her." Flynn looked up at Kat, who was watching as if listening. "What do you make of it? We don't really have much to go off."

Kat meowed at him.

"Right. Sometime between midnight and five last night, this poor girl was ruthlessly murdered." He picked up the report on the actual crime scene again and skimmed over it. As he read, he stopped and creased his brow. "What the… her heart is missing." He glanced over at Kat. "What the hell? Why would they take her heart? What kind of sick bastard are we dealing with?"

Kat stood, hopped off the back of the cushion and landed on the seat next to him. She snuggled into a tight ball pressed against his thigh, but offered no suggestions. Flynn leaned back with a sigh and idly rubbed behind her ears. "There were words carved onto her arms, too. Nothing we can make out. On the right arm the letters…" he raised the paper to double-check, "MJFWY, and on the left, BMD. We're looking into any possible organizations that have those acronyms, but nothing has come up yet."

Kat wasn't very good at offering solutions, but she did do wonders to make him feel better. The awful scene in his memory was a lot less powerful when he could feel her snuggled against him. She purred so softly he could barely hear it and just felt the vibrations through his hand.

"You'd make a terrible knight, you know. You'd just sleep all day and ignore your duties."

* * *

The next day, Flynn put the murder to the back of his mind. It wasn't that he wasn't still interested, he just had a lot on his plate and no time to deal with it. When he arrived at the castle, he settled himself in his office and got to work. He was in a good mood despite the sorry beginning to yesterday, because this morning he'd found a letter in his mailbox from Lady Estellise. Her trip with Yuri was coming to a close soon, and Yuri would be dropping her off in Zaphias in about two weeks. Flynn hadn't seen her in over a month, so it would be nice to have her around again. It would also be nice to see Yuri again. Just the thought put a smile on his face that even the dullest provision request form couldn't dim.

He got a lot accomplished in the morning and was looking forward to a similarly productive afternoon when a knock came to his door and Ioder popped his head in.

"Sorry to interrupt, Flynn. Do you have a minute?"

Flynn dropped his pen. "Of course, Your Majesty. What can I do for you?"

Ioder slipped into the room and closed the door. "I'm afraid it's not a pleasant matter," he said as he reached the desk and sat down. "It's about the body found yesterday."

"Ah. You've been made aware of that, then?"

"I dare say everyone in the city is aware of it by now. It's been in all the papers. Have you seen them?"

Flynn shook his head. He generally got the paper in the evenings, because he didn't have time to read it in the morning. "No, but I had imagined it would be mentioned."

"Mentioned is putting it mild. There are already articles speculating if this was some kind of ritual human sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Flynn frowned. "Where in the world did they get that idea?"

Ioder shrugged. "Oh, you know how it is. Young girl, heart ripped out, cryptic messages on her arms? Journalists are jumping over each other to write the most sensational article. I saw an article in one of the more eccentric papers claiming an undead monster has crawled up from the catacombs to feed on the hearts of the living."

"Perfect, this is just what we need." Flynn crossed his arms and leaned back. "I suppose we can't fully discount the possibility of some kind of ritual killing, but for now I'd prefer the investigation stayed focused on human suspects."

"I agree," Ioder said. "I wanted to tell you, though, that the Council is asking what you're doing about this."

"What else would I be doing? I've got the local knights working on the case."

"The Council feels you should be getting involved personally."

"Pardon? Why? Your Majesty, I have every sympathy for the girl and believe me, I want to solve this one too, but in all honesty, this really isn't my division. I have the entire Knighthood to manage - I simply don't have the time to devote myself to a single murder case."

"I am aware of that. However, the graphic nature of the murder and the fact that she was found within the capital is making people uneasy. The media having a field day with it doesn't help."

"I'll do what I can, but I have other duties that need my attention. Tell the Council I have every confidence in Lieutenant Leblanc, who's at the head of this investigation. I'll have him write up a report about… I don't know, the lack of slaughtered animals and the cause of death being a slit throat eliminating the possibility of ritual sacrifice."

"Really?" Ioder seemed impressed. "You can tell that much?"

Flynn shrugged. "No, but it will sound good to the papers. They want a sensation, so we need something more solid than telling them not to be stupid to get them off this tangent."

Ioder chuckled. "Yes, I see. Is there anything you  _have_  found out for sure?"

"Frustratingly little. I glanced over the updates this morning. The victim's boyfriend has been cleared - his alibi held up - she doesn't seem to have any other enemies, and she demonstrated no unusual behaviour in the past few days. Until she left her boyfriend's house that night, she was a perfectly ordinary girl who wasn't involved in anything suspicious. It's certainly strange. I don't know where we're going to go from here, but don't tell the Council that."

Ioder nodded in understanding. "Well, good luck to you. I'll tell the Council you're doing everything you can."

"Thank you." Ioder left, and Flynn got back to work.

* * *

The media was satisfied with Leblanc's completely bullshit report on all the specific evidence that indicated this wasn't a ritual sacrifice and the 'proof' that the perpetrator was indeed human and not some eldritch evil from the land of the dead. In fact, once the fun speculation period died about three days after the body was found, Victoria stopped dominating the headlines entirely.

Flynn was glad about that, because for the first few days some private detective had thrown interviews around about how the Knights were incompetent and that if the Council turned all the case information over to him he'd solve it in days. These interviews frequently carried rather disparaging comments about Flynn, who found these newspapers perfect for lining Kat's litter box.

After a few days, the Knights had no new information to excite the readers, so Victoria slipped from the pages and faded from the public consciousness as easily as she'd burst onto the scene. She hadn't been forgotten within the Knights, of course. Flynn didn't have time to personally investigate the case, but he checked in with Leblanc daily to see if they had any leads. So far, every course of investigation had turned up dead. They had no suspects and since they'd determined she had been killed elsewhere and then moved to Finch Street, they didn't even have a primary crime scene. Victoria had been fairly poor and nothing from her house was missing, so robbing her had clearly not been the incentive. As far as they could see, there  _was_  no motive.

The case was going as cold as the weather. Flynn hated to admit it, but when a week had passed since her body showed up and they knew nothing except that she'd been murdered some time between midnight and five, it was beginning to look like this was going to be a tragic mystery without a satisfying ending. That is, until the second body showed up.

Tomas Platt was a thirty-two year old silversmith from the upper end of the public quarter. Exactly one week after Victoria's body was found, his corpse was found on Lord's Lane. There was no question that it was the same killer. He had equally baffling letters carved into his arms, his chest was ripped open and bloody organs lay strewn around the smoothly paved street. The only difference was that this time his heart was in place but his lungs were missing.

On that dreary morning, Flynn turned away from the scene and rubbed his chilled hands together. The grey sky appreciated the solemnity of the moment, and the freezing late fall air tried to drive everyone inside so they wouldn't have to look. "Is there anything you can find that connects Platt to Muller?" he asked Sodia.

She shook her head. "Not yet. The witness who found him recognized him because he does a lot of work in this area, but he lives several blocks away. Leblanc sent someone to talk to his neighbour, who said he went out last night to make a delivery but she went to bed before he came back."

"Who is this person he was making a delivery to?"

"We don't know yet. We still need to go through his records at his shop."

"All right, look into that. Perhaps the person he was meeting knows something, if they aren't the killer themselves." That wouldn't explain how they were connected to Victoria, though. There was the chance this was the work of a copycat, but the handwriting on the arms looked too similar. Perhaps a deeper investigation would find a link, but for now it looked like two totally unrelated people had been gruesomely murdered by the same psycho. This didn't bode well for a traditional investigation into motive and known enemies.

Sodia saw his face. Quietly, so the other knights and civilians trying to get a better look wouldn't overhear, she asked, "Sir… do you think there's going to be a third body?"

Flynn sighed heavily, his breath turning to a puff of fog in the cold air. "I think we should be prepared for this to get worse before it gets better."


	2. Heartbreaker

Even though Yuri loved travelling, it was always nice to come back to Zaphias. Dahngrest had a certain charm and it was nice to be out of the empire and in the relative freedom of the Union, but Zaphias would always be home. Yuri, Karol, Estelle, and Raven made their way through the castle to Flynn's office. Rita needed to pick up her research notes in Halure before coming back to stay with Estelle for a little while, so she and Judith had gone ahead.

"I hope Flynn's in," Estelle said as they neared his door. "I told him we wouldn't be here until tomorrow."

"Of course he's in," Yuri said with a small laugh. "When is Flynn  _ever_  away from work?"

"That's true. It will be nice to see him again."

"Yeah. I haven't seen him in months."

Estelle glanced over at him with a knowing smirk. Yuri's smile slipped. "What?"

Her smirk turned into a full smile. "Nothing."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Even though he had a smile on his face, it wasn't as bright as it usually would be. He could tell something was wrong in Zaphias. There hadn't been time to stop and ask around, but there'd been an odd quiet in the air as they passed through town. Even in the lower quarter, Yuri hadn't seen nearly as many kids running around as usual. There had been more knights at the castle gates than usual, too.

Estelle rapped on Flynn's door when they reached it, and then burst in without waiting for a response. "Hello, Flynn!" She had her back to Yuri, but he could actually hear the smile across her face.

"Lady Estellise! I didn't expect you today."

"Sorry to crash your office," Yuri said, following her in. "We're a bit early."

"No, no, it's fine, come in." He put down his pen and motioned for them to enter. "How was your trip?"

"It was great!" Estelle pulled up a chair and sat across from him. "We went to the Shrine of Baction with some archaeologists and then took a vacation to Nam Cobanda Isle."

"I'm glad you had fun."

Flynn was smiling, but Yuri could tell there was something else there. He'd known Flynn long enough to tell when his smile was forced. Yuri would bet all the gald in the lower quarter it had something to do with the grave faces he'd seen on the knights outside.

"Yeah, it was great," Karol said, oblivious to the darkness behind Flynn's smile.

Karol sat in the chair next to Estelle, while Yuri made himself at home sitting on the edge of Flynn's desk. Flynn gave him a quick glare when Yuri settled himself there, but didn't bother making another comment. Knowing he was probably the only person in the empire who could get away with sitting on the commandant's desk brought Yuri some mild satisfaction. Raven, meanwhile, lurked to the side and watched out the window.

"So," Yuri said, fiddling with a jar of pencils, "how are things in Zaphias?" He met Flynn's eyes for a moment. Flynn knew he'd already picked up that something was wrong.

Flynn let his forced smile slip and weariness took over. "There's a bit of a problem."

Face filled with concern, Estelle asked, "What's wrong?"

"There has been a series of murders. The first was a young woman about two weeks ago on Finch Street. This was followed by a man last week all the way up on Lord's Lane. The day before yesterday, we found a third on Yew Street, which is in the lower quarter."

Raven turned his back to the window. "There's lots of murders in a big city like this. What makes these special?"

"All three victims were eviscerated," Flynn said. He cast a quick glance to Karol and then to Yuri before continuing, and Yuri knew he was judging whether he should keep talking about this with a child present. Karol had seen plenty of violence on their journey, though, so Yuri nodded imperceptibly to tell him to go on. "The victims were killed elsewhere and then moved to the locations at which we found them. They have all been cut open, but each is missing a different organ. The first lost her heart, the second his lungs, and the third had his eyes gouged out. Additionally, they all have indecipherable writing carved into their arms. The papers have been calling him the Heartbreaker, since the first victim had her heart ripped out."

Yuri stopped playing with the pencils in the jar and went still, his hand still resting on the edge of the jar as he mulled over the gory details. He didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't this. "Why does he take their organs? Is that what this is about? Organ theft?"

"Maybe he's eating them," Estelle chimed in.

Yuri, Flynn, Karol, and Raven all gave her shocked looks, and she shrank back in her chair slightly. "What?" she said sheepishly. "I read it in a book once."

"Right…" Flynn said, clearly still more than a little disturbed to hear Estelle proposing cannibalism. "Well, I don't think that's what this is about. At least, not the primary purpose. The third victim, a man named Terrance Boas, had his eyes removed. However, his torso was still ripped open. All his internal organs are accounted for. If this was primarily about organ theft, there would be no need to open him up."

"Besides," Karol said, "you can't eat eyeballs."

Yuri leaned back and held up his hand. "Sure you can, you just gotta cook 'em right. Puree them maybe, add a bit of salt…"

Karol grimaced and shoved him, nearly knocking him off the desk. "Yuri, that's really gross."

Yuri grinned for a second, and then said, "In all seriousness, some people do eat the eyes of animals. It seems kinda gross to me, but we're dealing with a psycho who cuts people open for fun so his dietary choices are the least of my worries."

Flynn shuffled things around on his desk and pulled out a file. "Here, this everything we know."

Yuri flipped through the pages while Estelle asked, "Flynn, are you really supposed to give out confidential case information to civilians?"

Flynn paused momentarily, and then said, "Uh… actually, no."

"Too late," Yuri said without looking up. "I'm not giving it back."

"You are hardly ordinary civilians. You saved the world."

Yuri waved his hand. "We just happened to be around."

Flynn gave him a look that said 'Yuri, I'm so sick and tired of trying to convince you you're a hero'. Yuri knew it was those words exactly, because he'd gotten this look accompanied by those words more times than he could count in the past five months.

"Anyway," Flynn said, "despite the name, the Heartbreaker's motive isn't organ theft and we can't find any hint that any of the victims knew each other or even moved in the same social circles, so a personal motive is proving impossible to find."

"These vics are just unlucky bastards in the wrong place, huh?" Raven stood close enough to Yuri to lean over and glance at the sketches. "They have nothin' in common at all. Not the same demographic, hair colour, gender, nothin'. I don't think it's about them. The killer was looking for a victim and they had the rotten luck to be around."

Yuri tossed the folder back on Flynn's desk. "Which makes the investigation even harder, since we can't even hope to find the culprit in the victim's acquaintances."

"I think this sounds like a job for Brave Vesperia," Karol said.

Flynn shook his head. "I'm sure the Knights can handle this. Besides, it would look terrible if I hired a guild to take care of our problem."

"Too bad," Yuri said. "We're gonna stick around and help anyway. Well," he glanced between Karol and Raven, "I can't speak for you guys, but if some psycho is terrorizing my hometown, I'm sure not heading off to Dahngrest without catching the bastard."

"You're not hoggin' all the glory," Raven said. "We're stickin' around, too, right, Karol?"

Karol nodded eagerly. "Yeah, of course. We'll do whatever we can to help catch this guy."

"I appreciate your help." This time, Flynn's smile was more genuine.

Yuri couldn't help smiling too when he saw how happy Flynn was to have their support. Estelle gave him a look, which Yuri quickly brushed off. "I'm gonna head back to the lower quarter now." Yuri hopped off the desk, not bothering to straighten the papers left behind. "Let me know if you get any new information about this case."

"I'll be sure to." Flynn straightened his papers. "It was nice to see you again, Yuri."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be at the Comet."

* * *

Yuri sat on the windowsill in his old room, watching the city at night. It was quieter than usual, or maybe it was just his imagination. Three horrific murders within two weeks seemed to have cast a chill over the city completely unrelated to the coming winter. Not that the winter chill wasn't forceful on its own. It was almost at the point where Yuri considered closing the window, but not quite. He could deal with the wind for now, even if the temperature was getting alarmingly close to zero.

Somewhere out there, the Heartbreaker was plotting his next move. Yuri wasn't nearly optimistic enough to hope this would stop at three. They had to catch this guy before more innocent people were slaughtered. Even tonight, there was hardly anyone on the streets in the lower quarter. The Knights had issued a warning about a killer at large who apparently struck indiscriminately in the night, and the people had responded by getting as much done during the day as they could and locking their shutters tight after the sun went down. It was eerie to see his home, usually so rowdy and full of life, tense and on guard.

A flicker of movement from the square caught his eye. Yuri leaned his head out the window to try to get a better look. Was there someone over there? He squinted, trying to make out the various shades of grey in the shadows. It looked like there was a person lurking there, but he couldn't be -

The knock at the door almost made him jump. Repede looked up from his spot on the floor, but didn't growl so Yuri assumed he smelled someone familiar. He hopped off the windowsill and went to open the door.

"Hey, Estelle. What are you doing down here?" He glanced around the walkway and added, "Did you come alone?" He didn't want Estelle to think he was patronizing her, but the fact remained there was a murderer loose in the city and walking alone at night may not be the wisest course of action.

"I did. Actually, I came to ask if you wanted to get dinner?"

"I was just going to heat up some leftovers from the inn, but we can grab a bite if you want."

"Good!" she smiled brightly.

"I'll see if Karol and Raven are hungry."

"Actually, I was thinking we could just go by ourselves, if that's all right with you?"

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You have a problem with Karol and Raven?"

"Not at all! We just haven't had a lot of time to talk just the two of us, so I thought it would be nice."

"Sure, if you want. There's a nice little restaurant that's not too far from here."

The restaurant was crowded, which was a comforting change from the empty streets. The night was scary with a murderer on the loose, so the residents of the lower quarter banded together in pockets of light and warmth. Yuri and Estelle sat at a small table against the wall, waiting for their food.

"I hope Rita gets back soon," Estelle said. "I bet she'll be able to think of something for this case."

"Yeah, she's pretty smart. Have you looked at the messages?"

She nodded, and traced the letters on the tabletop. "I'm sure it's a code of some kind, so I thought I'd try decoding it. I'm stumped, though. I thought maybe if I replaced all the most common letters with E it would be a step, but it didn't make any sense. I think each body has a different cipher. You need a keyword to decode them, but I have no idea where to even start trying to guess."

"Man, I don't know." Yuri frowned; he didn't like this weird secret code thing. He preferred his enemies to face him outright so they could fight, not hide behind cryptic clues. The killer was probably watching this investigation and laughing his ass off at their struggling. "I'm sure if you and Rita put your heads together, you'll figure something out."

"I hope so."

A waitress came by with their food, setting a bowl of clam chowder in front of Yuri and pasta for Estelle.

"Oh, good," Estelle said with a smile as she started to eat. "I'm starving."

"You should have eaten at the castle instead of coming all the way down here." Yuri ripped a chunk of bread off the loaf in the middle of the table and dipped it in the chowder. He wondered if maybe he shouldn't eat with his fingers when dining with the princess, but quickly brushed that thought aside. After all they'd been through, it was hardly time to start worrying about class and etiquette. He couldn't help but notice, though, the way she carefully held her fork and delicately twirled the noodles around the end so that none dangled when she ate.

"But I wanted to see you."

"We just spent over a month together."

"Yes, but the others were always around. I wanted a chance to talk to you alone."

"Oh?" He stirred the bowl to bring the heavier chunks to the top. "Something on your mind?"

"Yes, actually." She carefully twirled spaghetti around her fork, watching the sauce swirl around the plate as she searched for the next words. "Yuri… do you...  _like_  anyone?"

He hesitated and glanced up, praying Estelle didn't mean what he thought she meant. Estelle was one of the best friends he'd ever had, but he thought of her as a sister. "Estelle, you know you're one of my best friends, but I-"

"Oh!" she gasped and covered her mouth. "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I was trying to ask - how do you feel about Flynn?"

"Huh?" He stopped, a piece of bread still soaking in his chowder. He hadn't been expecting that. "What do you mean? He's my friend. I feel that he's a good guy, if a little pigheaded and obsessive. Is that what you mean?"

"No, not that. I mean…" Her head raised and she leaned forward, gaining more confidence in her question. "I've been wondering for a while. You  _like_  him, don't you?"

"Flynn's my best friend. Of course I like him."

She shook her head. "Not like a friend. I'm not super experienced with this sort of thing, but I've read a lot of romance books. Does he make your head feel funny and your chest all fluttery?"

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Yuri's feelings for Flynn were a mess of confusion that he would prefer to keep buried.

"He does, doesn't he? You have feelings for Flynn. Be honest."

Yuri grumbled under his breath, and then pulled the bread out when he realized he'd forgotten about it. Now super-saturated with clam chowder, it broke off and plopped into the bowl. Yuri fiddled with his spoon to fish it out to avoid having to answer right away. When he'd successfully eaten the dissolving bread, Estelle was still leaning forward, her fork abandoned on the side of her plate, waiting for an answer. She wasn't going to let up, was she? Of course not.

He sighed with exaggerated frustration. "Alright, alright. Fine. Yes." With as much saccharine sarcasm as he could pack into one sentence, he added, "He makes my heart go thumpy-thump."

Estelle barely contained a squeal and clapped a few times. "I knew it!" Her smile was so broad it might fall off her face. "How long have you felt this way?"

Yuri thought about it, and then shrugged. "I don't know." He picked up his spoon and started eating again. "I guess I realized it about half a year ago when we were still on our journey, but it just kind of crept up on me."

"Yuri, that's wonderful. I'm so happy for you."

"It's not a big deal, ok?" He waved his spoon to punctuate his point. "Nothing's going to happen."

Her smile slipped. "Why not?"

"Flynn doesn't feel the same way, so I'm not going to make him feel uncomfortable by telling him."

"You don't think he does?"

Yuri shrugged. "Doubt it."

"Hm…" She picked her fork up again and pensively twirled spaghetti around it. "I think he does."

"You do?" He felt stupid for being unable to completely mask the hopeful excitement in that question.

She glanced at the wall in thought. "Well… I'm not  _sure_. Actually, I've been watching both of you for a while now because I had a feeling something was going on. I was more sure about you than Flynn."

"You've been watching me?" He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

She nodded. "Yes. That's how I figured out how you felt." Then she giggled at his nervous expression and added, "Don't worry, I don't think you're being super obvious. I only noticed because I was already looking for it."

Yuri frowned. "What sort of things?" He was going to need to know this so he could hide it better in the future.

She shrugged. "Oh, you know, little things. The way you smile when you talk about him. The way you look at him for a few seconds longer even after the conversation has ended. You always walk a little faster when we're getting close to his office." She laughed again. "Stop pouting, Yuri. It's sweet."

"Whatever you say. I'm serious, though, I really don't think he feels the same."

"It's harder to tell with him. I don't even know for sure whether he's interested in men or not. He might just be further back in the realization process. I can ask him, if you like."

"No," Yuri said a little too quickly. He tried to explain. "I'm really happy being Flynn's friend. It's not like I'm pining away in grief over unrequited love or anything. Being 'just friends' with Flynn is perfectly fine with me. But if he found out I'm… you know,  _into_  him, it might make him feel awkward or uncomfortable and then this friendship we have could get all messed up. Besides, it's for the best - the Council is upset enough with him for maintaining friendships with people from the lower quarter. Can you imagine how they'd react if he was in a relationship with me?"

"I don't think Flynn cares what people think of him."

"Well, he should." His spoon clinked a little too loudly on the bottom of the bowl. "The more the Council dislikes him, the more he's going to have to struggle to get real change accomplished. I need to stay out of his way so he can accomplish the goals we both want."

Estelle's frown would have had more impact if her chin wasn't smeared with tomato sauce. Yuri gestured to his chin and she quickly wiped it away. Even though she spoke calmly, there was a hint of reproach. "I think you should let Flynn decide for himself what's best for him."

Estelle had a point. He was all about letting people choose their own paths and make their own choices, until it meant tangling himself up in confusing relationship drama. "Maybe you're right." Yuri ran a piece of bread along the bottom of the bowl to wipe up any last dregs, because growing up in the lower quarter meant a lifetime of being told that wasting any food was a crime. After thinking it over, he said, "I don't want to tell Flynn until I'm ninety-percent sure he'll respond positively. Otherwise it will just mess everything up."

"All right, if you're sure." She seemed a little put out that her friends weren't imminently going to have a tearful confession of love, but she would respect his decision.

"And don't tell anyone else about this, either. The last thing I need is for Judy to start teasing me."

"Heh-heh, ok."

With dinner done and the bill paid, they started walking home. They were alone on the quiet street, and Yuri glanced upward to the spires of the castle that seemed so far away. He thought of the shadowy figure he might have seen lurking near his house, and imagined Estelle walking all the way back to the castle, alone, with a murderer on the loose. He had every faith in her ability to fight, but there was no reason to even put herself into that kind of risk in the first place.

"Hey, do you want to stay at my place tonight and head back tomorrow morning?"

"Hm? Would that be ok?"

"Yeah, of course."

"This will be fun!" Her smile was almost bright enough to illuminate the street. "It'll be like having a sleepover."

Yuri smirked. "A sleepover, huh? What, do you want to play truth-or-dare and braid my hair?"

Estelle gave him a puzzled look. "Um… that wasn't what I was thinking, but if you want to-"

"No. You can take the bed; I don't mind crashing on the floor."

"I don't want to take your bed!"

They had reached the inn by now and started walking up the stairs. "Really, it's no problem," he said over his shoulder. "Besides, if you're the guest, I should be accommodating you, right?"

"Well… if you insist."

* * *

Yuri was surprised to find Sodia at his door the next morning, though possibly not as surprised as she was to find Estelle sitting on his bed and brushing her hair.

"Yuri Lowell, I - uh. Lady Estellise?"

"Hello, Sodia," Estelle said with a smile, running Yuri's comb through her hair.

Sodia looked between Yuri and Estelle with wide eyes. "You… the princess… since when were you…?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Yuri leaned against his door frame with a smirk. "Yes, that's right, the princess and I are  _passionately_  in love. Won't it be great when we get married and you have to bow to me as Prince Yuri?"

Sodia gaped at them. "But… you…"

"Yuri!" Estelle's face was pink. She put the comb down and hopped to her feet. "It's not like that at all, Sodia. Yuri and I had dinner last night and then I stayed here so I wouldn't have to walk home alone at night. He slept on the floor."

She stood next to him at the door now, and Yuri said, "Aw, why do you have to spoil my fun?"

Sodia glowered at him, but then regained her composure. "Lady Estellise, it's a good thing you didn't walk home alone last night. Another body was found this morning. Commandant Flynn requested I bring you and your companions to the crime scene."

With that news, Yuri's grin dropped and all mood for joking vanished. "I'll get my coat."

They found Flynn on Ninth Street, leaning against the stone wall of a general store. Yuri had been to this shop before, though not often, because it was one of the more expensive stores in the lower quarter. It was only a few blocks from the main square, which made him more confident than ever that he'd made the right decision in recommending Estelle stay with him over night. Behind the shop, the dirty river rushed along down the massive hill Zaphias was built on. The sewer emptied into the river around here, which was another reason Yuri tended to avoid it. This morning, though, the scent of blood took prominence. Right around the corner from Flynn there was a narrow strip of road between the shop and the river, and Yuri had a grim feeling he knew what he'd find when he turned the corner.

"Good morning," Flynn said. "Although that doesn't seem accurate given the circumstance." He gestured around the corner. "Have a look for yourself."

Nodding once, Yuri stepped around the corner. It was about as bad as he expected. Closer to the Ninth Street side of the strop, a middle-aged woman splattered the flagstones. Torso cut open, throat slit, eyes staring glassily at the cold grey sky.

Karol started around the corner, but Yuri shoved him back and with a tight voice said, "Stay there." He didn't care that Karol had been an integral help to saving the word. There were certain things that his gut instincts told him shouldn't be seen by children, and bare-chested women cut open so their ribs stuck out and intestines trailed onto the street was one of them.

Raven let out a low whistle. "Geeze."

"Yes," Flynn said. "That's basically how I reacted."

Karol edged around the corner. Yuri shot him a look, but it was too late to keep him from seeing. Karol's eyes went wide and his face drained of colour, but he was determined not to run away while the rest of the group managed to solemnly look on.

"Who was she?" Estelle asked softly, shivering. Yuri didn't know if it was from the cold or the sight.

"We don't have an identification yet," Flynn said. "A cursory examination reveals she's probably in her mid to late thirties, and she's missing her kidneys. As always, there are letters on her arms. In this case… Sodia, do you have it written down?"

"Yes, sir." She consulted a notebook. "The sequences are… S-P-L-V-M-G-A and K-I-C-O-P-B."

Yuri sighed in frustration, which turned into a puff of steam. "Meaningless as always."

"She didn't just magically appear here," Raven said. "Someone had ta drop her body off. He'd be seen draggin' a corpse through the streets ta get here."

"Maybe he timed it just right," Karol said. "The streets were pretty deserted last night."

A flutter of movement in the shadows lit up in Yuri's memories. "Actually, I'm not positive, but I think last night I saw someone lurking in the shadows in the square."

Flynn shot his eyes to Yuri with rapt attention. "Can you recall any more details?"

Yuri shook his head. "No. Sorry. I'm not even sure I saw it. It was around eight last night."

"Considering how close that is to here, there's a good chance the figure you saw could be the Heartbreaker stalking for his next victim."

"Yeah. Damn, wish I'd looked more closely."

"Too late now." Flynn surveyed the body for a few moments. "If we could just find the actual crime scene we'd have so much more to go off."

Karol was trying not to look too hard at the body while also trying to make it look like he wasn't trying hard not to see it. "Do you think they were all killed in the same place?"

"We don't really know," Flynn said. "It all depends on what kind of killer the Heartbreaker is. Is he taking them to some established location in his home to do his thing? That would imply a lot more forethought. But if he's just grabbing this people when the desire takes him, maybe he's just finding any location that's suitably out of the way to kill them and dumping them somewhere far away to throw us off."

"The fact that he's includin' coded messages would imply there's forethought here," Raven said. "Assumin' they're not the random scribblings of an insane man, of course."

"Hmm…" Estelle rubbed her fingers together to keep them warm. "I saw the papers, where Leblanc said it definitely wasn't a ritual sacrifice thing. Are you certain about that, though? This seems very organized. Leaving symbols on them, cutting them open the same way, methodically removing only one organ… maybe there  _is_  some ritual behind this."

"Maybe it's not even the same person," Karol suggested. "Maybe there are a few people in a cult doing this."

"That's just what we need," Yuri said. "A whole  _group_  of psychotic murderers."

"There's nothing else you need to see here," Flynn said wearily. "We need to get the sketch artists here to record the crime scene, send some knights around to try to find out who she is and who knew her, get the body cleaned up…" He shook his head. "There's not much you can do here. I just thought you'd like to see the actual scene if you're going to help solve this."

"Thanks… I guess," Karol said, still looking rather shaken. Nothing on their journey had prepared him for this level of gore.

"I still have things to do. Yuri, sorry I haven't had time to talk to you much since you got back. Things have been… hectic."

"I can imagine." Turning his eyes to Flynn, whose brow was creased in a slight frown and his cheeks reddened from the cold, made Yuri a lot happier than analyzing the eviscerated corpse. In fact, it made his lips twitch in a tiny smile. Feeling Estelle's gaze on him, he remembered what she'd said about it being so obvious he had feelings for Flynn and quickly tried to hide the smile.

"I should be able to have time tonight to get dinner if you want to catch up."

"That sounds nice, yeah. I'll meet you at your place around seven."

Yuri ignored the excited grin on Estelle's face as he, Karol, and Raven left. They were headed back to the Comet, while Estelle was going back up to the castle with Flynn. Karol was silent nearly the entire walk back, not that Yuri could blame him. When they crossed the square and reached the stretch of road leading to the inn, Raven said, "You feelin' all right, kid?"

"Y-yeah…" Karol mumbled, still staring at the ground.

Raven squeezed his shoulder. "Yeah, I feel about as 'all right' as you do."

"Not a pretty sight," Yuri agreed.

"I saw the sketches in Flynn's office," Karol said. "Seeing it in real life was a lot worse."

"Sketches don't smell," Raven said.

"We're gonna catch this guy," Yuri said firmly. Viewing the corpse himself had made him more determined than ever to catch the Heartbreaker. When they reached the walkway at the top of the stairs, Yuri stopped. His door was open. He had rushed out pretty quickly this morning, but he knew he'd closed and locked the door behind him like always. Raven and Karol noticed it as well, and all three of them drew their weapons before slowly entering the room.

Yuri kicked the door the rest of the way open and burst in, sword at the ready. He scanned the room, and after a few seconds of silence realized no one was here. Repede was gone, but that wasn't unusual. He didn't often spend his entire day sitting around in Yuri's room, and he always closed the door behind him.

"Someone was in here." Raven pointed to a smashed pitcher on the table near the door. "Unless you did that?"

"Not me." Yuri sheathed his sword and picked up a broken piece of pitcher. It hadn't been expensive, but he was still irritated that someone had broken into his room and smashed his stuff. He recalled the shadowy figure he'd seen lurking last night and made a wild guess that had something to do with this. He tossed the broken piece back on the table and said, "Great. This day keeps getting better and better."


	3. An Old Friend

Ba'ul landed just outside of Halure. This much farther north, winter had already settled comfortably onto the land with a thick layer of snow. Rita shivered and scowled at the crunchy white stuff, wondering for the millionth time how Judith managed to walk around in so little clothing. This was why Aspio had been better, she thought grumpily as they made their way into town. Snow never fell in the caverns. Sometimes she got so caught up in work and didn't leave the city or talk to anyone else for so long she didn't even realize winter had come.

"I hate snow," she grumbled as they made their way through the quiet lanes. After Aspio's destruction, most of the mages had taken up residence in Halure. Rita stuck around to be close to her colleagues so that getting a paper peer-reviewed didn't take weeks, but she was quickly growing impatient with the cozy little town.

"The tree is still bloom," Judith said, eyes on the skyline. "Estelle's magic never fails to impress."

"That's right." A bubble of pride swelled in her chest. "Ever since Estelle healed it, the tree has been covered in flowers. Who knows if it will ever lose its leaves. Estelle's super powerful."

Judith smiled. "You seem awfully proud of her."

"W-well, yeah. She's my friend. She's really strong."

Judith just smiled. Rita hated it when she did that.

"Whatever. Let's just get to my place before my fingers fall off." Stupid snow. She should just spend the whole winter in Mantaic. It was only going to get worse, too, until she had to stomp through three feet of snow just to run to the store.

Running steps crunched through the snow toward them. "Hello, Rita!"

She didn't even bother concealing her scowl as she turned around. "What do you want, Gill?"

The happy young man wore mage robes and a stupid tuque with a pompom even redder than his cheeks. He was admittedly quite intelligent for his age, and since that age happened to be the same as Rita's he seemed to think this meant they were destined to be best friends. Rita had done everything in her power to avoid him in Aspio, but during the relocation to Halure he'd managed to find a place to stay on the same street as her.

"Good to see you back in town," He smiled so wide it made his hat shift, causing all the little knitted reindeer to squirm around. Rita wondered if they were silently crying out in horror and begging her to rip them from his big dumb head.

"Yeah, I'm not here long. I'm just picking up some things." Gill needed to learn that he was obnoxious and unwanted and he wouldn't learn that if she humoured his attempts at conversation. With that in mind, she walked away toward her house.

"That's not very nice," Judith said.

"Nice doesn't get rid of people." She gritted her teeth when she heard his footsteps crunching after them.

"Oh, yeah, I understand you're busy. Where are you going? Are you doing field research with your guild friends again?"

They reached Rita's house. She held the door open for Judith to enter, but Judith lingered in the doorway long enough for Gill to step in, too. Rita gave Judith a dirty look, certain she'd done this one purpose. "I'm going to Zaphias," she said dismissively, edging around a stack of books to get to her desk, which was also buried under books. Her house was pretty tiny, and she was pretty sure she had more books than she had cubic feet of house. "I'm finishing up my work at the castle to avoid the Halure winter."

"Zaphias?" Gill's eyes lit up behind his glasses. "What a coincidence! I'm also going to Zaphias! I just finished my work on dissecting invertebrates affected by the aer crisis and I need to present my research paper in the capital to get more funding."

Judith smiled. "Really? That's great. Why don't we give you a ride?"

Rita glared at Judith over Gill's shoulder while Gill's face became even brighter. "Really? That would be great!" He turned to Rita, who didn't bother concealing her annoyance, and said, "Maybe it will give us a chance to spend some time together, Rita."

"Yeah, sure. That'll be great." She tore open her drawer and found the folder she needed. Judith was going to pay for this. As soon as she worked out how to get the blastia to operate on mana, a certain Krityan was going to get agility lessons in dodging fireballs.

"Honestly… it will be good to get out of Halure for now." Gill's smile finally faded.

"Oh? Did something happen?" Judith asked.

"Yeah." He shuffled his feet - which got snow on Rita's floor, the bastard - and frowned. "There was this really awful murder about two weeks ago. A pair of doctors were killed."

"Oh, dear. What happened?"

Rita pushed her annoyance aside as she closed the drawer with her hip. Gill was obnoxious, but if people had been killed, this was a serious matter.

"They were taking care of a patient who was really badly injured. They found him collapsed near the wreckage of Tarquaron and brought him back here for treatment. He was with them for months recuperating, and just a few weeks ago he was finally full recovered. But then… for some reason, he killed them as thanks. Someone came in for a check-up and found them all cut up on the floor." Gill shivered and stared at the floor. "Everyone's been so upset about it. It would be nice to get out of Halure."

"That's horrible," Judith said with a deep frown. "Who would do that?"

"Ugh, people are so sick." This was why Rita liked blastia better than people. Blastia had never flipped out and murdered everyone. Well… ok, ignoring the Adephagos issue, which could maybe be interpreted as blastia flipping out and almost murdering everyone. "Let's get out of here. I want to go back to Zaphias where there is less snow and less horrible murders."

* * *

Flynn lay on his chest, moving his hand under a thick blanket. Across from him, Kat's eyes watched the moving lump of his hand, tensed to pounce. Flynn slowly edged his hand closer to her, and just as she started to jump he yanked it back. She landed uselessly on the blanket and grumpily pulled her claws out of the fabric. Some things in life shouldn't be as amusing as they were, and taunting a cat was one of them.

He trailed his fist closer to her again, and her head smoothly shifted from side to side. Her muscles tensed, about to pounce again. Flynn braced himself for the quick pullback -

Someone knocked on the door. Flynn glanced up, distracted, just as Kat sprang. Seconds later, claws dug into the back of his hand and he shouted, pulling his hand away quickly. Kat fell backward when he yanked his hand up, but she seemed very satisfied with herself. Flynn squeezed the shallow points of blood on the back of his right hand and sighed. "I probably had that coming." At least he had avoided the worst of her claws with the blanket shielding him.

Still cradling his hand, Flynn went to the door. As expected, it was Yuri. "Hey. Good to see you."

"What happened to your hand?"

"Nothing." He tried to pull it back, but Yuri caught his wrist. "Ow, hey, that stings."

Yuri snorted. "Your cat did that right?"

"It's my fault. I was tormenting her."

Yuri glared at Kat over Flynn's shoulder. "Or she's a devil cat."

Flynn frowned. "Yuri, we've talked about this. My cat is not a demon."

"She's going to slit your throat in your sleep, just watch."

Flynn rolled his eyes. "Come in, sit down. I'm just going to put a bandage on this and get my coat and we'll head out."

Flynn gestured to the couch in the living room and then started up the stairs. As he went, Yuri called, "Wait, you're leaving me alone down here with the devil cat?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Yuri." Yuri had never gotten along with Flynn's cat, which caused Flynn at least a little grief. Of course, it didn't help that Kat didn't seem to like him, either. It was the situation with Sodia all over again. Why couldn't Yuri ever get along with the people or animals Flynn cared about? Oh well, at least he and Estelle were friends.

After wrapping a quick strip of bandage around his hand, Flynn returned to the living room to find Yuri sitting on the couch with his arms crossed, glaring at Kat on top of the bookshelf. "Did you manage to survive?" Flynn asked.

"She's watching me. I've fought enough monsters to know when one of them is sizing me up to prepare a strike."

"You're ridiculous. Let's go." He buttoned up his coat and they left the house, Yuri glaring at Kat until the door closed behind him. "Yuri, you're going to have to get used to my cat. She's not going anywhere."

"She attacked you and you're taking  _her_  side?"

"I was taunting her. It's only to be expected."

"Yeah, and won't you be surprised when the Heartbreaker turns out to be none other than your devil cat."

Flynn lightly smiled and shook his head. "Right, Yuri."

They reached the restaurant, a nice casual place in the public quarter. Flynn liked the food here, but he felt awkward going out for dinner alone and it didn't feel like the kind of place he could take a princess, so he didn't come here very often.

"So, what did you find about this morning's victim?" Yuri asked after they placed their orders.

Flynn should have known better than to hope this evening out would be a chance to get away from work. As much as he wanted to put this sordid affair behind him, he also wanted Yuri's help solving the case and that required giving him the facts. "The victim's name is Abigail Bogs. She was a shopkeeper from Harris Avenue. Her husband said she went out last night around eight to spend time with her ill sister and he didn't expect her home until this morning. We spoke to the sister, and she reports that Mrs. Bogs never arrived at her house."

"Eight, huh? That's around the time I saw that person lurking in the square."

"It's looking increasingly likely that these events are related."

"So did he take any of her organs?"

"Yes." Flynn frowned. "Her kidneys."

Yuri slowly shook his head. "I still don't get it."

"Me neither. The Council is in a fuss, too, demanding I solve this case immediately. They're all just afraid the next murder is going to happen in the royal quarter."

"Yeah, I read the papers. There's that detective guy too, right? Going on about how he'd solve the case within hours if you just released the details to the public."

Flynn rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, him. Jasper Trout. He's just bitter because he got discharged from the Knights last year."

"He did? What for?"

"The report just says 'behaviour unbefitting of a knight'. I never met him personally; he left before I became commandant."

"Hm… that's annoyingly vague." Yuri drummed his fingers on the table thinking it over. "That could be anything from being rude to a commander to slaughtering civilians."

"Slaughtering civilians? That would be a much bigger issue."

Yuri shrugged. "You'd think so, except a lot of times the Knights want to cover these things up to save face. I wasn't just throwing that out - it's a specific instance I heard about. Couple years back, I ran into Hisca - you know, from our old unit? Apparently some knight went mental and killed a bunch of civilians outside Dahngrest. Since he was some order of lesser noble and his victims weren't imperial citizens, his commanders just covered it up and quietly discharged him." Yuri glared at him and added, "She said you were there."

Flynn's gaze turned to the grain of the table. "Oh, yes… I do remember that. It was Hisca and I who charged him. Believe me, I was upset when I found out he got off so lightly, too." He raised his head and firmly met Yuri's eyes. "But I swear I won't let something like that happen as long as I'm commandant. I won't let any of my officers give lesser priority to the lives of Union citizens, or to give higher priority to nobility."

"I trust you."

Yuri's confidence in him made Flynn happier than he'd thought it would. "There's still a lot of work to be done, of course. We've only had about five months to try to get everything in order."

"Yeah, I understand. And while you're busy fixing the government, Brave Vesperia has got people's backs." He jerked his thumb at his chest with a cocky grin.

"Just don't do anything  _too_  illegal."

Their dinner arrived and conversation turned to more casual topics. Finally able to escape thinking about the murders, Flynn relaxed and enjoyed the night out. Yuri wasn't in town nearly often enough, he decided. He fooled himself into thinking conversations with a cat were enough to keep him social and entertained, but they had nothing on the long, meandering conversations he could have with Yuri. With almost twenty years of shared memories, they could talk for hours about everything from laughing over an old joke from when they were kids to discussing the various changes they wanted to see in the empire.

When dinner was over, they headed out and started the walk home. "It's certainly almost winter," Flynn side, pulling the collar of his coat up to snuggle his nose under it. "Probably going to snow soon. Ugh."

"I like snow." Their path took them along Madison Avenue, a curving road that sloped up toward the royal quarter. Flynn didn't live too far from it, which was good because the cold air was giving him a runny nose.

"I just hate shovelling it," Flynn grumbled.

"Oh, please, like the commandant has to shovel his own sidewalk."

Flynn shrugged. "I  _could_  hire someone, I suppose. I like to take care of these things myself, though."

"Stop complaining. I shovel the steps at the inn, and the street in front of Hanks' house."

"That's true." Flynn took a deep breath, the cold air freezing his lungs. "I get the feeling it's going to be a harsh winter."

"Not getting off to a great start, yeah."

They walked past a dilapidated house that was under construction. In the past few days, activity had spiked as they tried to finish before snow came, but Flynn didn't have much hope of them finishing in time. Ahead of them was a pair of white stone pillars that stood at the entrance to the gated yard. The street number was 16, but it almost looked like 19 because the top screw of the six had fallen out and let the number swing upside down. Just as Flynn was wondering if this ever caused trouble with postal delivery, a figure burst out of concealment from behind the pillar.

"At last!" he screamed. "I've finally found you, Yuri Lowell!"

Yuri didn't have time to ask 'what the hell' before raising his sword to block a blow. Flynn took a moment to feel grateful that they'd both been on edge about the Heartbreaker and brought their weapons, and then rushed to Yuri's aid.

"Zagi?!" Yuri shouted, blocking blow after blow from his attacker. "I thought you were dead!"

Zagi cackled. "It takes more than that to kill me, Yuri Lowell!"

He had to let up in attacking Yuri to defend himself against Flynn. Yuri had told Flynn about the strange assassin who'd become obsessed with him, and up until now he'd been pleased to never properly meet him. One of Zagi's arms was metallic and his bizarrely coloured hair stuck up in a mess. He had a manic glint in his eyes and attacked with an animalistic frenzy.

"I've waited months for this, Yuri Lowell!" He turned between fighting Flynn and fighting Yuri with skilled ease. Their swords swished through the night air, glinting in the darkness. "Months of recovery and training, all for this moment!"

"Would you give it a rest?!"

"That's right, Yuri, hate me! Relish your hatred before I slice you open!"

Zagi's eyes locked on Yuri and he drove forward with renewed vigour. This was his mistake, because he took his attention off of Flynn and gave him an opening. Flynn swung his sword, and would have sliced Zagi's arm clean off if it weren't for the metal. This gave him enough distraction for Yuri to slam his sword at him. Zagi darted to the side, but not before Yuri's sword sank into his hip. Zagi staggered back with shock, covering his bloodied side with his flesh hand.

He growled in fury, shouted, "This isn't the end, Yuri Lowell!" and took off down the street.

Flynn was about to follow him, but then Yuri slumped against the pillar. He pulled himself upright, leaving a dark stain on the whitewashed stone.

"Yuri!" Zagi would have to wait. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," he grunted. "Go after him!"

Flynn turned to see how far away Zagi had gotten, but he'd already turned a corner. He was torn between chasing after him and hoping he guessed which direction he'd gone, and staying to make sure Yuri wasn't too badly injured. Yuri glared at him, and then Flynn nodded and dashed after Zagi. At the crossroad, he looked both ways but caught no sign of Zagi. He spotted a splash of blood on the corner, but that road dead-ended at the river. Either Zagi hadn't gone that way, or he'd jumped into the river and probably already disappeared. Either way, his chances of catching up to him were quickly diminishing, and the smear of blood on the pillar grew more and more vibrant in his mind. After deciding to tell every knight in the city to be alert for Zagi, he ran back to Yuri.

Yuri leaned against the pillar with one hand tightly wrapped against the side of his chest, as if he was doing a pledge with his hand over his heart. "Did you get him?"

Flynn shook his head. "He got away."

"Damn. That slimy bastard always manages to slip away."

"How badly are you injured?"

"Not too bad." Yuri pulled his hand away to reveal a slash about as long as his palm.

The ripped edges of his coat and shirt were stained with blood, but it didn't look too deep. Still, Flynn couldn't help but wince. "Come back to my place. It's a lot closer than the lower quarter. I'll patch you up."

"Heh, fine, let's just not tell Estelle or she'll freak out."

They walked slowly the rest of the way to Flynn's house. He kept glancing at Yuri to make sure he was all right, while Yuri stubbornly kept his face stoic and refused to show any hint of being in pain. When they got home, Flynn didn't bother yelling at Yuri to take his boots off before walking across his carpet and let him to the kitchen. He grabbed a first aid kit from under the sink and hurriedly said, "Take your shirt off."

Yuri smirked. "Not on a first date, Flynn. I'm not that kinda guy."

Heat rose to Flynn's cheeks, which he didn't have a good explanation for because Yuri always joked like this. They were both perfectly aware it was just a joke. He frowned, and then lightly smacked Yuri on the head with the tin box. "It's not the time for joking around, Yuri."

Yuri laughed and shrugged off his coat, and then grabbed the hem of his long-sleeve shirt and pulled it up. He stopped when pulling his arms up made his wound throb, and Flynn grabbed the sleeves to pull it the rest of the way. Yuri hissed, and then Flynn tossed it to the table.

"Ok… it doesn't look too bad. It's not very deep."

"See? I told you not to worry. Gimme an apple gel."

"Hold on, I want to wash it first, just in case."

Yuri groaned and leaned back in the chair. "If you insist."

Flynn wet a cloth in the sink and then turned back to Yuri, lounging shirtless across from him. Had he always been so muscular?

"What're you staring at?"

"Nothing," Flynn said quickly. A little too quickly. He could acknowledge that his friend was good looking, couldn't he? That wasn't weird. Estelle was always saying Rita was cute or pretty. There was no reason for his face to flush. Before Yuri could find an excuse to tease him about it, Flynn dragged a chair over to Yuri and started wiping away blood.

"Ow."

"Baby."

"You're being too rough."

Maybe he was working a little too aggressively, but he was eager to finish so Yuri could put a shirt on and Flynn wouldn't have to deal with these confusing thoughts. He started a conversation to distract himself. "So that was Zagi, huh?"

"The one and only. Damn, I really thought he was dead last time. The guy's a cockroach. He's probably the one who broke into my house this morning."

Flynn paused. "What's this about breaking into your house?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that."

Flynn glared at him. "Yuri, I think a house break-in is a rather notable event."

Yuri shrugged. "You have other things to deal with. Nothing was stolen and nobody was hurt, so it's fine."

"Still." He finished cleaning the last of the blood and then took a smaller cloth out of the kit and poured a little hydrogen peroxide on it.

Yuri glanced at the bottle. "Hey, what's - ow!"

Irritated with him for not mentioning the break-in, Flynn pressed the cloth against the wound without regard for how much it would sting. "Stop whining. It's good for you."

"I like Estelle's healing better."

"You're the one who said not to worry her."

Yuri squirmed uncomfortably. "Just give me an apple gel already."

"Not until the wound is clean or it will just close over contamination." The wound wasn't very deep so he might be overreacting, but this was payback for filling Flynn with all these confusing feelings. Cleaning done, he handed Yuri a gel. Moments after swallowing it, the wound closed itself and Flynn wiped away the last of the blood. "There, was that so difficult?"

"Whatever." Yuri reached for his shirt, but Flynn grabbed his wrist. "No, you can't put that back on. It's ripped and bloody."

"But it's my shirt."

"I'll throw it in the laundry and loan you one tonight." Before Yuri could argue, Flynn grabbed the shirt and left the room.

Upstairs, he tossed it into his laundry basket and fished out a shirt for Yuri. Flynn had broader shoulders so most of his shirts would be baggy on Yuri. He also had to consider that if he sent something home with Yuri, his room would probably eat it and he'd never see it again, so he should give him something he wouldn't mind losing. Someone meowed, and he glanced to his bed to see Kat curled up on his pillow with a grumpy expression. "What?"

She glared at him in response.

"Are you upset that Yuri's here? That's it, isn't it? You know, you're going to have to get used to him. I had Yuri before I had you. If you can't get along, I'll have to get rid of you."

She just purred and twitched her tail. Flynn glanced at the door, but before going back downstairs he crossed to the bed and took a moment to rub between her ears. "Sh…" he whispered, "ok, fine, I won't get rid of you." He leaned in close and added, "Yuri would survive on the streets better, so I'll kick him out before you, ok?"

She bumped her head against his forehead, and Flynn smiled. "Aw, that's right. You can be my best friend now. You aren't frustrating like Yuri is." And she didn't make him feel confused and conflicted when she walked around without a shirt, which was probably for the best. If Flynn started getting the same feelings for Kat as he did for Yuri, he'd be highly concerned. Not that his feelings for Yuri were anything but friendly! At least… he didn't think so. He slumped forward and pressed his face against his comforter. Life was hard.

Back in the kitchen, he found that Yuri had helped himself to a bag of cookies from the cupboard. "Please, make yourself at home," Flynn said sarcastically.

"I plan to." He paused and finished swallowing. "These are stale. How long have you had them?"

"Serves you right for taking without asking. Here, put a shirt on." He threw it at Yuri's face.

Yuri pulled it down and over his head. "I was thinking. You think Zagi is the Heartbreaker?"

"I considered that, too." Flynn picked up the bag of stale cookies that had been a gift he'd totally forgotten about and tossed them in the trash. "He certainly likes slicing people open."

"I have a feeling he was the guy I saw last night, probably scoping out my place. Then Abigail was killed not too far from him. Could be a coincidence, but seems unlikely."

Flynn nodded and took a seat again. "You're probably right. Zagi doesn't seem the sort to discriminate in victims, either, so I could see him randomly attacking anyone he finds on the street."

"Just great." Yuri straightened the shirt, and then looked down at himself. "Flynn… why are there kittens on my chest?"

"It was the first one I grabbed." That was almost true.

"More importantly, why do you even  _have_  a sweater covered in kittens?"

"Mrs. Hanks knitted it for me."

He picked at the wool on his chest. "Did you want to be matching twinsies with Kat? There aren't enough devil horns on the sweater, though."

Flynn lamented he didn't have anything else to throw at Yuri. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Nah." Yuri stood up and grabbed his coat. "Thanks for the apple gel. I'll keep my eyes out for Zagi."

"Will you be all right walking home by yourself?"

Yuri slid his arms into his coat. "Don't worry about little old me. See you around, and thanks for dinner."

"It was my pleasure." Flynn always insisted on paying for meals when they went out. His salary as the commandant was more than he'd ever been prepared to deal with, so there wasn't a point in Yuri wasting his hard-earned gald when Flynn had gald coming out his ears.

Flynn walked him to the door and lingered in the doorway as Yuri walked away, wondering if he should have insisted he spend the night. He had a spare room, after all. Or they could just share his bed. Lying close beside him, feeling his warmth, letting his fingers brush that smooth hair… Flynn shook his head and closed the door. It was probably best that Yuri left.

* * *

Estelle hadn't given up trying to break the code. Now that they knew the killer was Zagi, she hoped she could use her prior knowledge of him to put together what the letters meant. She sat in Flynn's office, sitting across from him while he worked. She didn't like sitting alone in her room, and Flynn didn't mind the company because she was quiet, so they often worked together.

Flynn was working on military things, because he didn't have time to dedicate himself to just this murder case, while Estelle poured over her paper until the letters blurred together. No matter how she switched them around, read them upside down and backward, they still made no sense. She listed each victim with all the facts they knew about them. Finch Street - Victoria Muller - MJFWY BMD - Heart. In the next row: Lord's Lane - Tomas Platt - VEXQC RKFOWD - Lungs. And so on, in the hope it would give her a spark of insight.

The door burst open, and she jumped around to see all of her friends march into the room. She couldn't keep a smile off her face when she said, "Rita! You're back!"

"Hi, Estelle," Rita said, smiling as well. It always made Estelle feel fuzzy inside when Rita smiled at her, because Rita never smiled for  _anyone…_  except her.

"Hello, everyone," Flynn said, not setting his pen down yet. "I'm sorry to be rude, but if this isn't important, I'm afraid I don't have time to chat."

"It's about Zagi," Yuri said.

Flynn paused. "Ah."

Estelle put her pen down and pushed her paper to the side, and then scooted over so Rita could sit on the arm of her chair. "What did you learn about Zagi?" Flynn had filled her in on his and Yuri's encounter the previous night. She was horrified to learn Zagi was still alive, and even more horrified - though not entirely surprised - to learn he was still trying to kill Yuri.

"We went to Halure to pick up some of Rita's files," Judith explained, "but when we got there, we learned that there had been a situation. A doctor couple in town had been viciously murdered a week or so ago, and everyone was still on edge."

"Oh, no…" Estelle said, and found herself reaching for Rita's hand. "How horrible."

"Three guesses who the killer was," Yuri said, his hand on his hip. "He sliced them open pretty well, though no organ theft. I guess he hadn't settled on a 'thing' yet."

"How did Zagi end up in Halure?" Estelle asked.

"Some explorers went up to the ruins of Tarquaron just after it crashed in the mountains north of town," Rita explained. "They found Zagi half-dead, didn't know who he was, and took him back to town for medical care. The doctors had no idea he was dangerous and did everything they could to save his life and nurse him back to health."

Judith frowned deeply. "And then, after all their care and trouble, he repaid them by slaughtering them the moment he recovered."

"And then he came here," Raven said. "All the way ta Zaphias ta find his favourite target."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "I'm honoured."

Judith crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "Seems like he's taking out his boredom on innocents, though."

"I've put out a description of him," Flynn said. "His appearance is fairly distinctive. Every knight in the city is on the lookout for him. We'll catch him soon."

"Where are the bodies?" Rita asked. "Is there any way I can see them?"

Flynn reached into a drawer and pulled out a folder. "We have sketches of all the crime scenes in here."

"No, no." She waved her hand irritably. "The actual corpses."

Flynn frowned, certain he'd misunderstood her. Estelle shared his confusion, because she couldn't think of any reason why you'd want to drag a poor dead person out. It was indecent. "We cleaned up the bodies and allowed the families to arrange a burial. They victims were all eviscerated - there was no need to bring in a doctor to determine cause of death."

"I was thinking, though, that there might be evidence on them I can pick up, like traces of things that might lead us to where they were killed. Chemicals, fibres, or something like that."

"Whoa," Karol said with wide eyes. "That's a good idea, Rita."

Flynn set the folder down. "Hm… well, they've already been buried. Mrs. Bogs' funeral was this morning. If you want to examine one of them, she would be the least decayed."

Karol looked to Flynn with confusion. "How could she examine her if she's already been buried?"

Estelle quickly jumped in with the answer. "Oh, they haven't exactly been  _buried_. We haven't buried people in Zaphias for a long time because we ran out of land. The city is too densely crowded and it's not safe to build cemeteries outside the barrier, so about two hundred years ago Emperor Berthold the Fifth ordered the construction of catacombs under the city to hold the dead."

Flynn nodded. "That's right. Their bodies will be at rest in the catacombs now."

"I'll go with you, Rita," Estelle offered.

"You don't have to come with me," Rita said quickly. "I mean, it won't be very pleasant with dead bodies and all."

Estelle squeezed her hand and smiled. "Don't worry about it. I've been down there before. There's a section of the catacombs directly under the castle and I used to go down there when I was young to see the tombs of the old emperors."

"Well… if you're sure."

"Of course. We should go right now so you can get started." She stood up, but the sudden absence of her weight holding the chair caused it tip over with Rita on the arm. "Ah! Rita!" Estelle grabbed her arm and pulled her back, bumping into the desk. The paper she'd been working on slipped to the floor and glided a few feet away. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Estelle." Rita pulled away from her. "I didn't even fall."

"Ok, good."

Karol picked up Estelle's paper from the floor. "Here you go, Estelle." He held it out, but when Estelle reached for it his grip remained tight and his eyes locked onto the page.

"What is it, Captain?" Yuri leaned over to get a better look at the paper.

Excitement filled Estelle. "Did you see something I missed?" If they could just decode those stupid letters, maybe they'd figure out where Zagi was hiding.

"Uh… I'm not sure," Karol said, lowering the page. "It might just be a coincidence."

"Let's see it," Raven said.

"Well, ok." He set the paper on the desk and picked up Estelle's forgotten pen. "I don't know if this means anything, but I just noticed here, where you have the street names lined up…" He drew a vertical oval around the first letter of each street name. "Finch, Lord's, Yew, Ninth… if you take the first letter of each, it spells F-L-Y-N."

Estelle gasped. "Flynn!"

"Well, it's one letter off," Karol said. "Maybe it's just a coincidence."

Flynn grabbed the paper and stared at it. "You're right… it spells my name." His shock turned to a frown. "Except it's missing the last N."

Yuri grimaced. "That probably means there's going to be a fifth soon."

"But why does it spell my name? Zagi's after Yuri, not me."

"You were his original target," Estelle pointed out. "Maybe he wants to kill you, too?"

"It's strange," Judith said. "Zagi's always been more of an in-your-face attacker. It's unlike him to drop cryptic clues like this."

Flynn dropped the paper and took a deep, frustrated breath. "I don't know what's going on. What we know for sure is that Zagi is a psychotic killer loose on the streets of Zaphias and we need to apprehend him. We also have a good idea that a fifth murder victim is going to appear on a street beginning with an N. All I can say is I hope he stops there and doesn't decide to do Scifo, too."

After leaving Flynn's office, Estelle led Rita out of the castle and through the royal quarter. "Other than what happened to the doctors, how was your trip?"

Rita shrugged. "Fine. There's some experiments I want to run with electrifying tungsten so I needed my notes."

"It will be nice to have you stay with me for a while. We can hang out every day!"

"Yeah. It will be great."

"Flynn says it's probably going to snow a lot this year. Maybe we can make a snowman!"

"Hm…" Rita got a scary look in her eyes. "That might be interesting. I wonder how stable packed snow can be? If you melt and then flash-freeze the outer edge of the man, could it result in a solid ice coating around the figure? That would be even more stable, so you might be able to actually mount defensive mechanisms on it to make a snow fort that can repel actual attacks as well as snowballs…"

Estelle gave Rita a worried expression. "Uh… I was thinking we could give it a broom and maybe a hat."

"Yeah, sure, but I've been experimenting with black powder lately and if we put it in the hat and add the right chemicals, it will explode with colourful lights."

"Rita, we are not building an exploding snowman!"

Rita finally paid attention to Estelle. "But think of the contributions to science!"

"No!" Then Estelle shoved her hands down the back of Rita's shirt.

The warmth of Rita's neck warmed them up immediately, while Rita yelped and tried to pull away. "Estelle! That's cold! Ack! Stop!"

"No. This is your punishment for threatening to blow up our snowman." She gripped Rita's shoulders while her fingers felt like they were burning from the extreme difference after being exposed to the air.

Rita squirmed and tried to wriggle away from Estelle's icy grip. "Ok, ok! I'm sorry! We'll build just a regular boring snowman, ok?"

"No black powder involved?"

"None! I promise!"

Estelle relented and released Rita, who pulled away from her and tugged the collar of her shirt tighter around her neck. "What are you doing to your hands!? Geeze, those are made of ice!"

Estelle smiled and tucked them into the pockets of her coat. "They do come in useful though, don't they?"

"Yeah," Rita grumbled, hunching her shoulders in protection. "If you ever lose your magic, just slap your enemy and freeze them solid."

Estelle giggled as they reached the entrance to the catacombs. It was an old building made of solid grey stones and covered in spindly fingers of ivy that had already lost its leaves for winter. It lurked in the shadows between two larger and newer buildings, so that you could easily walk past it without notice. There were three main entrances to the catacombs throughout the city, not counting the private entrance in the castle, although only the man who maintained the catacombs had the key to get through the barred door separating the royal section from the rest. This was the closest entrance to the main tunnels, although they would have to walk a little ways to get past the dead nobles to reach the commoners. With a chill wind picking up, though, it might be nicer to make the walk underground than to go all the way down to the entrance in the public quarter.

Inside the building, the floor was covered in large rust coloured tiles and the walls were the same grey stone as the outside. Across from them was an arched doorway covered in an iron-barred gate, with steps spiralling down. Carved into the stone over the arch were the words,  _As I am now so shall you be; Prepare yourself to follow me_.

"Hello?" Estelle called around the empty room. The only light came from the windows by the door that were so in need of a wash they didn't let much light through. Visiting the catacombs was not high on any noble's to-do list.

A door against the back wall opened and an aging man shuffled out of his office. "Ah… Princess Estellise. Can I help you?"

"You're Lord Carter, correct?"

He nodded slowly. "So I am. Are you going down to the catacombs?"

"Yes," she said with a nod. "Rita and I want to view the bodies of the murder victims. The ones that have been in the papers, I mean."

"Oh, yes. How tragic. It's a walk from here." He shuffled over to the gate and pulled out a key. "You know, you're the only one to come here in weeks. No one wants to visit the dead anymore. Too focused on living." He was practically mumbling now, talking more to himself than either of them. "They'll probably close down the public entrances soon. Just as well my son doesn't want to take over. Been in my family for years, you know? Used to take my boy down here… to the oldest sections… let him play with the bones…"

Rita gave Estelle a look that silently asked,  _is this guy off his rocker?_  Estelle was just glad Rita had learned enough tact to not ask aloud. They walked by him and to the stairs.

"I'll leave it unlocked for you," he called after them. "You have the rest of eternity to spend down there… no need to start today… ha."

Estelle looked over her shoulder. "Uh, thank you." She and Rita quickly hurried further down.

When they were out of sight and so far down that gas lamps set into the walls were the only light, Rita said, "That guy was weird."

"Yes… but I suppose it must be a dreary job."

"This whole place is creepy." They reached the bottom of the stairs and she picked up a lantern waiting on a table. She lit it with a match and then they took off down the stone tunnel. They entered at the oldest section, where the walls were lined with alcoves and each alcove contained a dusty brown skeleton. "What was with those words over the top, anyway? The ones that basically said 'prepare to die soon'?"

"It's supposed to be a reminder of mortality." Not that she thought they needed much of a reminder down here. Their footsteps echoed, as did the distance scratching of rats. The air was cold and musty and their lantern did little to penetrate the oppressive blackness of being underground. It was hard to believe it was a sunny day outside.

"I think I'm pretty aware of mortality." They reached a crossroads and went forward to the flight of stairs leading to a lower level. The levels of the catacombs continually descended as you moved further down the hill. Technically, you were always only one storey down, because by the time the stairs took you to a lower level, the ceiling height would have dropped enough that you were the same distance underground as when you started out.

"It's supposed to make you think about the inevitably of death. It's reminding you that all these dead people we pass now as if they were objects were once living people just like us, who also might have come to the catacombs to observe. Someday, we'll be lying in these alcoves too and someone else will look at our bones. Everything has to end, so don't let yourself get caught up in the arrogance of life because you, too, will be nothing more than rotting skeleton someday. At least, that's the explanation I read."

"I guess I can understand that. I don't really think about death all that much. I have too many things I'm going to accomplish, and I don't need dying to get in my way. Still, you'd better not let me get buried in Zaphias like this." She wrinkled her nose at the densely packed alcoves. Some of the skeletons now still had scraps of hair, flesh, or dusty clothing clinging to them. "I don't want some creepers a hundred years from now looking at me."

"Don't you want to be remembered? With your body laid out like this, you've got much more presence than a simple headstone."

Rita shrugged. "I don't really care about a headstone, even. My name's going to be in dozens of textbooks for my contributions to scientific knowledge - why should I care if there's a rock with my name on it somewhere?"

Estelle pouted because she didn't even want to think about Rita dying. She paused and wrapped her hands around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I'll remember you even if you aren't in  _any_  books."

"Wha - Estelle, let go."

"I don't like talking about dying."

"You started it." She slumped into the hug, giving up on freedom until Estelle was ready.

"Let's talk about something else, then." She released Rita so they could continue their journey.

"Like what?" They walked down another flight of stairs. There were even alcoves filled with corpses in the stairwell. "Kind of hard to think of anything else when there are dead bodies everywhere you look."

"Um… what do you want for dinner tonight?"

Rita shrugged. "I don't care. Whatever you want."

Estelle sighed. "You're awful at this."

The journey through the catacombs took about twenty minutes. By the time they arrived at the hallway they wanted, they had both pulled their coats over their noses to block the smell. This was where the recent bodies were kept, and even though the cold air kept some bacteria at bay, with this many bodies in one place there was bound to be an awful reek.

"She'll be one of the most recent," Estelle said quietly. There wasn't a real reason to keep her voice down, except it felt wrong to talk loudly surrounded by all these bodies. It was as if she would accidentally wake them up.

They hurried down the hall and turned a few more corners, and finally found a row that wasn't completely filled. Empty alcoves took up the rest of the aisle like an empty honeycomb.

"There she is," Estelle whispered, pointing ahead. She and Rita approached the body of Mrs. Bogs slowly. Estelle recognized her from the crime scene, and she had to admit she looked better. She'd been cleaned up, her chest sewn back together and dressed in nice clothing. Her eyes were closed and only the deathly pallor revealed that she was dead and not merely sleeping.

"So this is her, huh?" Rita didn't share Estelle's compulsion to whisper.

Estelle just nodded.

"All right, let's see if I can find anything."

Estelle stood back and watched Rita work. It felt wrong to poke and prod poor Mrs. Bogs, but if it helped them find her killer, wasn't that worth it? Thinking of it that way made her feel better, although she still wished Rita would be a little more respectful. Rita pushed Mrs. Bogs' head to the side and casually cut off a lock of hair with a pen knife and then slipped it into a pouch at her waist. She didn't even seem to feel any shame as she pulled the shirt up and inspected the incision down the chest and stomach.

After about fifteen minutes of poking around, Rita turned away. "Ok, I think I got everything I'll be able to. The idiots cleaned her up pretty well before moving her down here. Ugh, who knows how much evidence they might have washed away."

"Do you really think you'll be able to find anything?"

Rita shrugged. "Who knows? Can't hurt to try. Now let's get out of here. It's so creepy."


	4. Unforgivable

Tabitha Zimmerman was found on Newhaven Road the day after Judith and Rita arrived in Zaphias. She wasn't found right away, because the first snow of the season had fallen that night and the freezing temperatures prevented the body from decomposing and attracting people by smell. It was only when the young man working at the butcher shop went outside to throw away unused bones that he found her tiny body sticking out from behind the trash can.

Yuri sat on a create against the wall, feeling glum. None of the murders so far had been pleasant, but there was something particularly awful about the victim being such a small child. Tabitha was only seven years old. She'd lived on a street in the lower quarter, and Yuri recalled congratulating her mother when she was born. He'd seen her running around with her friends only last week, but now she lay on the frozen ground with her chest ripped open and tongue cut out. She had lost a mitten, so one hand curled in a fist while the other was covered in a knitted purple mitten. It was so small. Zagi was going to pay.

"Newhaven Road," Judith said, eyes on the street sign not too far away. "We were right about that, at least. This is the second N."

"At least we were right about that," Karol mumbled. He stood at the front of the building just around the corner from Yuri so he wouldn't have to see the body.

Knights milled around the scene, taking orders from Flynn. Yuri ignored them and tried to think things through. Why was Zagi killing these people? Maybe he was trying to lure Yuri out. If that was the case, it was partially his fault that people kept dying. Zagi wanted to fight him, so he needed to face him head on. If it was a fight Zagi was after, Yuri was going to give it to him before any more innocent kids got hurt.

Raised voices from the knights caught Yuri's attention. He glanced over to see Flynn having an argument with a civilian.

"For the last time, absolutely not," Flynn said firmly. He wasn't outright raising his voice yet, but Yuri knew from the set of his shoulders that he was only a hairbreadth away from losing his temper.

"And why not?" asked a woman with a shrill voice. "What right do you have to keep information from the public?"

Yuri glanced to Judith, who'd been paying more attention. "Who are those guys?"

"The woman is a reporter, and the man is a private detective. They want access to the crime scene."

The pair stood on one side of a rope that formed a semi-circle around the alley. The woman had frizzy orange hair in a tight bun and a notebook in hand while her companion wore a tan trenchcoat and fedora. It was like he'd seen a picture of what a private detective should look like in books and then made it his life's ambition to emulate it with a little creativity as possible.

"We are not releasing case information to the public," Flynn said. "Captain Leblanc will send you a press report as soon as possible."

"What about them?" The woman pointed at Yuri, Karol, and Judith with her pencil. "They're not knights. Who are they? What right do they have to be here more than us?"

Flynn glanced at Yuri and then back to the reporter. "The members of Brave Vesperia are working with the Imperial Knights in an advisory capacity. Now, would you please vacate the premise and allow us to get back to work?"

"What's the name of the victim?" the detective asked. "Looks like a kid."

"We are not releasing that at this time, Mr. Trout."

"Oh, but you'll tell guild members? This is, what, five murders in three works? How much longer are you going to let this continue before admitting it's out of your league?"

Flynn struggled to keep his calm. "I appreciate your concern for the victims, but any release of information could be damaging to the case. We cannot give out any details to the general public."

"But you're giving details to a guild!"

"Brave Vesperia has my complete trust."

"Hmph!" the woman sniffed primly. "I think I understand the situation. Come on, Jasper, the commandant doesn't seem to want to solve this case any time soon."

They walked away in a huff, and Yuri rolled his eyes as Flynn walked back toward him. "Finally got rid of them, huh?"

"For now. Scoot over." Yuri slid to the side and Flynn dropped onto the crate. "They'll be back. Now that we have a child victim, this case will rocket back to the front pages and stay there for a while. Everyone wants to know what we've found out, but we really don't know anything."

"We know she must have been dumped before around two," Judith said. "That's when it started snowing, and there are no footprints leading away from her body."

All that remained of the night's snow was a quickly melting coating on the streets, but Yuri remembered how vividly her blood had stood out against the freshly fallen snow when they first got here.

"Do you think you should tell the reporter about your name?" Karol asked.

Flynn shook his head. "The last thing I want is for people to think this has anything to do with me.  _I_  don't want to think this has anything to do with me, but until we find out more I'd like to avoid wild speculation in the papers." He sighed heavily, leaned forward, and rubbed his forehead. "Her mother still hasn't been told. I know Mrs. Zimmerman personally. I should tell her myself."

Yuri took one look at Flynn's face and asked, "Do you want me to go with you?" Yuri really didn't want to be there to tell Mrs. Zimmerman, but he didn't want Flynn to have to do this himself, either.

Flynn raised his head a bit. "If you wouldn't mind."

Yuri felt cold standing in front of Mrs. Zimmerman's door for reasons entirely unrelated to the weather. As Flynn banged on the door, he found himself hoping Mrs. Zimmerman wouldn't be in. He hoped Flynn was prepared to do the talking, because Yuri was awful at this sort of thing.

The door swung open and a very tired and worried woman answered it. Yuri had seen her on the street corner selling flowers for years, and she generally wore a smile brighter than he most vibrant flowers. Today, though, her face was heavy and her hair wasn't up in its usual bun. "Oh… Flynn." There was an edge of cautious hope in her voice.

Of course she already knew something was wrong. Yuri had been stupid for thinking of this as bringing horrible news completely out of the blue. Tabitha had been killed last night, so surely her mother would have noticed that her daughter didn't come home. She was probably hoping Flynn and Yuri were here to let her know they'd picked Tabitha up safe and sound. The longer Flynn hesitated before speaking, however, the thinner the hope became.

"It's about Tabitha, isn't it?" she whispered.

Flynn fidgeted, and then took a deep breath. "Mrs. Zimmerman… I am deeply sorry to have to inform you that your child is dead."

She slumped against the doorway with a gasp and Yuri quickly reached forward to grab her before she continued dropping to the floor. She leaned against Yuri's shoulder and he awkwardly patted her back, looking to Flynn for advice. Flynn gave him a tiny nod to say he was doing fine.

"What happened to her?" Mrs. Zimmerman asked, turning her head away from Yuri's chest enough to look at Flynn.

Flynn glanced around the street. "Why don't we go inside to talk?"

"Tell me what happened to her."

Flynn hesitated, so Yuri braced himself and said, "She was murdered."

Mrs. Zimmerman heaved for breath. "I knew it. I  _knew_  it. When she didn't come home last night… it's been all over the news, hasn't it? It was  _him,_  wasn't it?"

Flynn reached over and gently rested his hand on her shoulder. "Mrs. Zimmerman, please, we should go inside to talk."

She struggled to pull herself upright. "Yes. Ok. Right." So took a few more deep breaths and rubbed her eyes. "Come inside, boys."

Her house smelled like flowers. Yuri had never been inside before, and found himself unsure where to go. She waved them to the floral-print couch against one wall and then said, "Let me get you some tea."

"That really isn't necessary," Flynn said quickly. "If you need something, perhaps I can-"

"Let me get you some tea," she said a little more firmly. Searching for a feeling of normalcy, probably.

Flynn relented. "Yes, thank you."

Yuri was about to decline because he didn't like tea, but a quick glare from Flynn shut him up.

"How do you take it?" she asked.

"Plain is fine, thank you," Flynn said.

"Milk and three sugars, please." If Yuri was going to stomach tea, he'd drown it in sugar until it was edible.

He and Flynn sat on the couch while Mrs. Zimmerman shuffled off to the kitchen. The house was sparsely furnished and everything looked second-hand, but that was to be expected of a home in the lower quarter. Crayon drawings were tacked to the walls, with sloppy signatures like "bY TAbiThA, AgE 5". These drawings made Yuri's stomach tighten and he found himself subconsciously edging closer to Flynn for comfort. The whole room was so painfully mundane; it wasn't a place for such horrible discussion.

Mrs. Zimmerman came back with a tray, a teapot, and two mugs. They rattled on the tray with her shaking hands. She set the tray on the coffee table and sat across from them, clutching a mug of tea of her own. "Where did you find her?"

Flynn picked up his mug. "On Newhaven Road."

"I see." She stared into her mug with glassy eyes.

"Mrs. Zimmerman… I know this is hard for you, but can you tell me where she was last night?"

"I d-don't know." She took a sip and then took a moment to compose herself. "She went out to play yesterday after lunch. She was supposed to come home for dinner, but she didn't." She took another deep breath and Yuri worried her hands would shake so much the tea splashed out. "I figured she had just gotten caught up playing a game. That happens sometimes, you know? It wasn't until it started getting dark… and she hadn't come home yet…. I thought maybe she and her friends had decided to build a fort and camp out in it. But I want to her friends' homes and they were all there… they said they saw her going home around six. They said goodbye to her on Canal Street."

Yuri couldn't stand to watch her. Zagi murdering innocent people was bad enough, but now he'd gone and killed a child. He was going to murder that bastard. He gripped the handle of his mug so tightly it almost hurt and took a sip. He immediately suppressed a gag; she'd forgotten the sugar.

Mrs. Zimmerman raised her fearful eyes. "Flynn… tell me the truth. She didn't… did she suffer greatly?"

Flynn's Adam's apple bobbed, and Yuri could see him wavering between the truth and comfort. Ultimately, Flynn couldn't bring himself to hurt Mrs. Zimmerman further. "No. I do not believe so. Tabitha died quickly, likely before she even knew what was happening." He shot Yuri a quick glare, daring him to say otherwise.

She let out a sigh. "Oh… that's good, at least. You're going to catch the person who did this, aren't you?"

"Yes," Yuri said, speaking for the first time. "We've already got a suspect. All we need to do now is flush him out."

She let a small smile twitch at the corners of her mouth. "Give him hell for me, Yuri."

They left not long after. Yuri left half his tea still in the mug, but Mrs. Zimmerman was so distracted she didn't seem to notice. They walked down the road town Canal Street to see if they could find any clues around the area where Tabitha had been abducted.

"I hate that part," Flynn muttered.

"Can't say I blame you."

"Every time I have to write a letter to explain that one of my knights has been killed, I feel like such a failure. I'm the commandant; I'm supposed to protect people. The citizens of the empire are under my protection, and yet…"

"Hey, you can't blame yourself." Yuri punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You're doing everything you can. You can't hold yourself personally responsible for every nutball with a knife."

"Maybe Trout is right, though. Maybe there's some massive clue right beneath our noses and we're just not seeing it?"

"Then I doubt that guy would be able to see it, either. He's just talking out of his ass."

"I hope so."

They reached Canal Street and paced up and down. There was no snow left by this point, which was a small blessing.

"Look, over here," Flynn said, crouching next to an alley. Yuri hurried over and found Flynn analyzing a red and white polka-dot ribbon between his fingers. "Do you think this was Tabitha's?"

"Could be." Yuri ventured down the alley, hoping for another clue. All he found were frosty crates, some old rags, a rusty wheel, and bags of trash. When he kicked one of the bags to see if anything was behind it, a pair of rats darted out. Flynn yelped and jumped backward before they disappeared into a storm drain, and Yuri laughed.

"Admit it - the reason you got a cat is because you're afraid of rats and thought she'd fight them off for you."

"I am not afraid of rats," Flynn said firmly. "I merely find them disconcerting. Did you find anything?"

Yuri scowled and pushed the trash back. "Nah, just some rubbish someone really ought to throw out in a proper trash heap."

"I'll take this back to Tabitha's mother and see if it's hers." Flynn pocketed the ribbon. He notably stayed away from the alley, and Yuri was certain it was because he was afraid of more rats popping out. "Not just now, though. She needs time to grieve and I doubt she wants to talk about Tabitha anymore."

"Yeah. If it is her ribbon, that means she was probably grabbed around here. Then Zagi took her… somewhere. We still don't know."

"Right. There's no blood around here, so she wasn't killed in this alley."

Yuri walked back to the street and looked around. "So… where did he go? How did he get her away? You'd think someone would notice a maniac carrying a struggling child away."

"She may have been drugged. I don't know."

"When we catch Zagi we can ask him."

"But first we have to catch him."

"Yeah, actually I have an idea about that. Zagi's after me, right? So if I act as the bait, you can have all your knights lying in wait to grab him." Yuri didn't like planning to rely on Flynn's knights rather than deal with it himself, but having an entire force to back him up would be the best chance of success. There was no time for second chances when little kids were getting killed.

"No, absolutely not. We're not using you as bait."

Yuri put his hand on his hip. "Fine, I'll do it on my own and trust Brave Vesperia to back me up. I was hoping to get more reinforcements from you, but if you're not interested…"

"Yuri!" Flynn's fingers twitched like he was considering smacking Yuri. "Don't be so reckless. I can't let you use yourself as bait. What if something happens to you?"

"I've taken on Zagi before. It'll be fine."

"What if something goes wrong? It's too risky."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. Think about Tabitha's mother. Do you want to have to go to someone else's mother and deliver the news? Flynn, let's end this. Anything is worth it if it will help us stop Zagi from hurting anyone else."

Yuri glared at Flynn, daring him to protest further. Yuri had made up his mind. All that mattered now was whether Flynn would be willing to help him.

Flynn hung his head and let out a frustrated sigh. "All right. I don't like it, but I'll help. We'll do it tonight."

* * *

"So… how's it going?" Estelle leaned over Rita's shoulder, trying to see what she was doing.

Rita's shoulders tightened. "Estelle, for the last time, I can't work with you looming over me like that."

Estelle backed up and then sat at the table next to her. Estelle had gotten her a room in the castle to use as a lab while she was visiting. Rita had only been using it for less than a day, and it was already a chaotic mess. For now she'd shoved all her books and folders from Halure off to one side so she could focus on studying the evidence from Abigail Bogs. She was hunched over a microscope, which couldn't be good for her back since she'd been in that position all morning. She'd brushed off Estelle's offers of a shoulder rub, though.

The door opened, and Estelle noticed Rita tense up in anticipation of frustration. Estelle ignored this and turned around with a smile. "Hello, Gill. How are you?"

"Oh, I am excellent! I presented my paper on aersickness in invertebrates this morning and successfully secured additional funding."

"That's wonderful!" Estelle didn't understand exactly why Rita hated Gill so much. He seemed like a nice young man.

"Yes! With this, I will be able to research small vertebrates, too. Just think of the fascinating things we can learn about how aer affected mammals."

Rita sat up and twisted. "Nobody cares about aer anymore, Gill. All the  _real_  research is being done on mana, now."

Gill's face fell, and Estelle gave Rita an admonishing look. "That's not true, Rita. The effects of aer are still very relevant to our world."

"What are you working on, Rita?" He crossed the room and leaned over her shoulder.

Rita shoved him away. "I'm inspecting material found on a corpse. It's actually pretty important, so go back to your aersick worms."

"Let me see." Before Rita could stop him, he leaned over and peered through the microscope.

"I haven't identified exactly what it is yet, but I found it on her fingernails. I think it might be-"

"Oh, this is black mould." Gill pulled back and smiled as Rita gaped at him. "It's a mould that grows in damp places."

"What would mould be doing on Mrs. Bogs?" Estelle asked, while Rita struggled to find words to deal with the fact that Gill knew something she didn't.

Gill shrugged. "I don't know. I doubt it would have time to grow on her."

Estelle rested her hand on Rita's shoulder. "Rita, you should show Gill your other evidence. He might be able to help."

"I have everything under control," she said petulantly.

Estelle frowned at her. "Rita, your speciality is in aer, mana, and chemistry. Gill works with biology and he probably knows a lot more about bodies."

Gill smiled innocently and hopefully at Rita, and after a long standoff she finally relented. "Fine." Rita crossed her arms and scowled. "Work with me if you want."

"Thank you! This will be fun!"

Estelle had seen less excited puppies.

The door opened again, and this time Flynn appeared in the doorway. "Forgive me for interrupting."

"Hey, Flynn," Rita said. "Find the victim from this morning?"

His face darkened. "Yes. She was a seven-year-old child."

Rita dropped her flippant attitude and Estelle's heart shrivelled. "Oh, no…" She leaned against the table. "That's horrible."

Flynn nodded, his face heavy. "Her name was Tabitha Zimmerman. Yuri and I knew her mother, because she's from the lower quarter. I wanted to tell you that Yuri has a plan for catching Zagi. He's going to use himself as bait to lure Zagi out, and I'm going to have my knights ready to capture him. I thought you'd want to be there with the rest of Brave Vesperia."

"He's doing  _what_?" Rita rolled her eyes. "That idiot. He's going to get himself seriously hurt one of these days."

"Of course we'll be there!" Estelle already knew it was useless to try to convince Yuri not to do it, so she'd make sure she was nearby to heal him in case things went south.

"I'll be there, too," Rita said.

Gill glanced at them nervously. "Should I come with you?"

"You can't even fight, Gill," Rita snapped. "You couldn't cut open Zagi unless he was a euthanized frog."

"I - I just want to help. It sounds dangerous."

Estelle smiled comfortingly at him. "It's ok, Gill. You can stay here and keep looking through the evidence. I'll make sure Rita doesn't get hurt."

His face turned pink. "N-no, that's not - I'm not worried about Rita." He spoke a little too quickly.

"I need to go organize the ambush party. Lady Estellise, meet Yuri at his home in the lower quarter by sundown."

She nodded firmly. "We'll be there."

* * *

Flynn jumped when Yuri kicked his door open. He couldn't be mad at Yuri for barging in this time, though, considering they were at Yuri's place. "Hey, Flynn, you see the paper?"

Yuri's mission to capture Zagi was planned to start in less than half an hour, so Flynn had camped himself out in Yuri's room while getting final preparations ready. Everyone was in position, so all he could do now was wait and try to stop worrying.

"I read the paper this morning, yes," Flynn said. He paused, and then added, "Well, I skimmed the headlines while rushing through breakfast. I think Kat enjoyed eating the leftovers."

"The evening edition just came out." Yuri slapped the paper down on the small round table in the corner where Flynn sat. "Take a look; you're the star."

Already dreading what it was going to be, Flynn pulled the paper closer and took a look. The headline read,  _Commandant Scifo Trusts Guilds More than Citizens?!_

"Oh, great," Flynn grumbled. "I can already tell I'm going to like this article."

Yuri rested his arm on Flynn's shoulder and leaned against him to read over the article. Feeling Yuri's body pressing so close against him sent a fuzzy tingling through his chest, which he pointedly ignored. Why did this always have to happen every time Yuri was around?

"Lovely." Flynn scowled at the paper. "Apparently I'm 'insensitive'. I didn't show  _proper remorse_  while dealing with the death of a child. Heaven forbid I maintain professionalism in the face of a tragedy. And they're questioning my loyalty to the empire? Oh, of course, because I let a guild help on this case and not a 'good imperial citizen who only wants to help his home city' - and reading between the lines I'm certain they mean Trout - I have questionable allegiance to the empire. Trusting you more than Trout  _obviously_  means my true loyalties lie with the Union."

Yuri jabbed his finger at the next page. "My favourite part is the picture."

At the bottom of the article was a simple line drawing of a figure with dramatically spiky hair labelled 'Flynn' yelling at a simply-dressed man labelled 'Zaphias Citizens'. Behind him were shadowy figures with evil grins labelled 'Union Members'. There was a speech bubble coming out of 'Flynn's' mouth, saying, "I am only trying to protect the citizens!"

"They really got your nose right, I think."

"This is ridiculous," Flynn said. "Who wrote this drivel? Angie Klapp? No doubt she's that woman we saw this morning." Flynn crumpled the paper into a ball. "Repede, catch." He tossed it across the room, but Repede turned his nose up at it.

Yuri laughed. "Repede knows not to put that kind of shit in his mouth."

"Sorry. She said some nasty things about you." He wrinkled his nose and couldn't wipe the scowl from his face.

Yuri shrugged and sat on his bed. "Why should I care what some reporter says about me? You're the one with politics to worry about."

"Yes, I'm fairly irritated. So far I have high public opinion, but that won't last much longer once everyone gets over their excitement of me supposedly stopping the Adephagos."

"I'm going to find another copy and cut out that picture of you, though. They got your expression of pompous superiority just right."

"Repede, give me that newspaper back. I need to throw it at Yuri."

Repede gave a little grunt that could only be interpreted as " _seriously, humans?"_

Someone knocked on the door, called, "Hey, it's us!" and then Karol led the rest of the group in. "Hi, Yuri. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's take this bastard down."

Damn, was it time already? He still didn't like this. He understood it was important to catch Zagi, but the idea of offering Yuri up as bait like a worm on a hook didn't sit well with him. He didn't have a lot of experience with fishing, but he knew things didn't usually end well for the worm. Yuri was committed, though, so he'd be as supportive as he could. He stood up and looked down at Yuri. "I've already sent knights around to warn the residents to stay in their homes tonight."

Yuri shifted on his bed, anxious to get up and go. "Good."

"And every building around the square will have knights."

"Yeah, that's the plan."

"We'll be nearby too, Yuri," Karol assured him.

"Thanks, Captain, but really, I'll be fine."

Flynn hesitated for just one more moment. "All right… you're sure about this?"

Yuri met Flynn's eyes for a long moment. "I'm sure, Flynn." Yuri stood and punched his shoulder. "Stop being so worried. I'll be fine." Before Flynn could worry further, Yuri left the room, his friends in tow.

"We're assuming Zagi is on the prowl for you," Judith said. "Stay in the main square around the fountain. You'll be clearly exposed, and he knows you live around here. Once he arrives, you need to drive him to the covered area under the arches. That's where the knights will be ready to arrest him."

"We won't come out of hiding unless it looks like you're in a lot of trouble," Karol said when they reached the bottom of the stairs. "If Zagi sees an overwhelming force about to attack him, he might flee to come back when you really are alone."

Estelle hurriedly added, "But if you do look like you're in trouble, we'll jump out right away to stop him."

They walked the rest of the way to the square, which was deserted. Yuri strode forward while the rest of the group retreated to the arched walkway to stay out of sight. All they could do now was hope Zagi noticed him. Flynn followed Yuri's friends and hid behind one of the arches. Behind every wide pillar was a pair of knights, all waiting for Zagi to get close enough to subdue him.

"What if he doesn't show up?" Karol asked, glancing around the pillar.

"He's gotta," Raven said. "He's tracked Yuri all over the globe for a fight - no way he won't come out now."

"I almost hope he doesn't," Estelle admitted.

Yuri sat on the edge of the inert fountain. They hadn't gotten it running again since the blastia disappeared, so the square was absent of the familiar splashing. Yuri leaned back on his hands and stared up at the sky, so his hair almost trailed in the water.

They didn't have to wait long. About ten minutes had passed when Flynn heard a voice. "So, Yuri Lowell, we meet at last."

Yuri hopped up and turned to the slope leading down from the public quarter. "Meet at last? What are you talking about? We've met loads of times before."

"And this shall be the last!" Zagi ran at Yuri, his blade already swinging.

Yuri met him easily, and a fierce battle began. Flynn's hand twitched for his sword, every instinct telling him to rush in and help. Yuri could take care of himself, but it drove Flynn nuts to stand back and do nothing while watching his friend fight. A quick glance at Yuri's friends showed that they felt the same way. Judith had a tight grip on her spear and Karol chewed on his lip while fidgeting with the handle of his axe.

"Yes, Yuri!" Zagi screamed as they whirled around the fountain. "This is what I've been waiting for! This shall be our final battle!"

"Yeah, that's the plan." Yuri grunted and glanced to the arches. He was doing all right at holding Zagi off, but manoeuvring him into position was more difficult. Zagi zipped around like an angry hornet, and his unpredictable movements made it difficult to force him to a single place. Zagi landed a blow, slashing across Yuri's shoulder. Flynn winced just from watching. Yuri tossed his sword to his right hand to continue the battle with blood soaking through his sleeve on his left.

"I just want to help him," Estelle whispered.

"Me, too," Flynn replied softly. "He'd be furious if we messed this up, though."

Zagi laughed while hitting Yuri's sword so hard there were almost sparks. "Yes, bleed for me, Yuri Lowell! I want to see your blood!"

"You know," Yuri paused to take a breath, "maybe you should see someone." He took a few steps back, going on the defensive. "I feel like this obsession of yours-" he jumped back again and twisted to the side to block Zagi's erratic attacks, "indicates serious mental health issues."

It looked like Zagi was gaining the upper hand, with Yuri backing up and barely launching any offences of his own. Flynn was just about ready to charge in and put a stop to this fight before Yuri got seriously hurt when he realized Yuri was edging steadily closer to the arches. He went slow so that it wouldn't be obvious and let Zagi think he was winning, but slowly and steadily Yuri was backing toward the ambush spot. He'd given up trying to drive Zagi there and now worked on luring him in. Flynn prayed Zagi wouldn't land a serious blow before Yuri got him into position. Being on the defensive was dangerous, since Yuri couldn't see behind him while backing up and risked stumbling.

They were close enough now that Flynn could see the sheen of sweat on Yuri's face and the puffs of fog from their panting breaths. Zagi's eyes were locked on Yuri, while Yuri glanced backward every chance he could to see how far he still had to go. He bled from a few injuries, but Zagi had as many and none looked life-threatening. They were so close now; Yuri just needed to take a few more steps.

Yuri crossed into the shadows of the arches and Zagi's grin spread. "Running out of room, Yuri. I'm going to spear you to the wall and watch your blood drip to the ground!"

 _Clang_! Yuri's arm shook from exertion at the force of Zagi's strike. "Ugh… get a hobby!"

Yuri glanced sideways, met Flynn's eyes, and leapt to the side. Flynn shouted, "Now!"

Zagi ran toward Yuri, just as a dozen knights burst from concealment. It only took seconds. Zagi flailed and thrashed his sword around, but a dozen knights and Brave Vesperia pointing their weapons at him was more than enough to subdue him.

"You cheated!" he screamed while his sword was pried from his grip. "This was supposed to be  _our_  fight, Yuri Lowell!"

"I've told you before, Zagi." Yuri got to his feet, one hand going to his bloody shoulder. "I don't have time for your stupid games."

Zagi shrieked and thrashed around, even after one of the knights managed to get handcuffs on him. "This isn't over, Yuri! I'll get you! I'll cut you up and watch you bleed!"

Flynn passed him to get to Yuri. He gave Zagi an irritated look and said, "Take him to the dungeon."

As the knights took Zagi away, Flynn turned his attention on Yuri. "Are you all right?"

"Fine. I've had worse."

Estelle pushed Flynn aside to get to him. "Let me heal you."

Before Yuri could get any more words out, golden light folded around him, closing the wounds. He rotated his shoulder and said, "Thanks, Estelle." To Flynn he smirked and said, "See? Told you I could do it."

"You did get hurt, though."

"Barely."

"The next time you did something reckless like this, you might not be so lucky."

Yuri waved his hand. "I'll deal with that when it comes."

"We did it!" Karol exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. "We finally got Zagi!"

"I actually feel better if he's imprisoned," Judith said, watching the knights lead Zagi up the hill. "Every time we thought we left him dead, he showed up again, more tenacious than ever."

Raven grinned. "I think this calls for a celebration."

Yuri matched his grin. "For once I think you're right, Old Man."

"Why thank you, I - hey, wait, what is that supposed ta mean?"

"Let's go to the Comet," Yuri said. "I think catching a serial killer is cause for a drink."

Rita crossed her arms. "You should probably at least change your shirt, Yuri. You're covered in blood."

"Oh, right." He glanced at his arms and then crossed his arms with a cocky smirk. "That's just proof of the battle, though, isn't it?"

In a flat voice, Karol said, "I think it just looks like you can't afford more than one shirt."

"Yuri, you really should change before going out," Estelle said with a worried frown. "Walking around with blood on your shirt isn't very sanitary."

"Ok, fine, I'll change. I'll meet you guys there, then. You coming, Flynn?"

"I need to go back to the castle first and clear everything up with Zagi's arrest. I'll meet you later."

"You'd better. You deserve to relax away from work sometimes, too."

"Yes, I promise."

"Oh, Rita," Estelle glanced between Rita and Flynn, "do you think we should invite Gill?"

"No," Rita said bluntly.

Estelle pouted. "But he's so far away from home and you're the only person he really knows in town."

"It was his idea to stick around in Zaphias after giving his paper on worms or whatever. Besides, he's busy investigating Tabitha's body."

Estelle looked to Flynn, "Flynn, when you're at the castle, invite Gill to come down, will you?"

Rita glared at him and said, "Invite him and I'll knock your lights out."

Flynn glanced nervously between the girls. He didn't want to disappoint Lady Estellise, but he also didn't want to risk incurring Rita's wrath. "I, uh… I'll see what I can do." Before he could get further drawn into their argument, he hurried after the knights.

Flynn enjoyed the walk to the castle. Putting Zagi behind bars was a huge weight off his shoulders. The past two weeks had been some of his most stressful since taking the job, what with the horrific murders and constant pressure from the Council. He couldn't wait to see the look on Trout's face when he announced the killer had been caught. This was of course an incredibly petty reason to be glad a murderer had been apprehended, but after dealing with so much tragedy lately he felt he deserved a chance to be petty.

At the castle, he double-checked that Zagi had been secured in the dungeon. Leblanc was filling out the arrest papers and assured him that Zagi was taken care of, so he made his way to Ioder's study to give him the good news in person. After knocking, Ioder beckoned him in. Despite the late hour, Ioder was still working by candlelight. He was possibly the only person in the castle who worked longer and harder than Flynn did.

"Good evening," Ioder said from his desk. "How are you, Flynn?"

Flynn stood at attention before the heavy mahogany desk. "Good evening, Your Majesty. I am well. I wanted to tell you in person that we have apprehended the Heartbreaker."

"That's excellent news." He smiled with relief and leaned back in his chair. "I'll be able to rest easily now without having to worry about that. I'll be sure to tell the Council first thing tomorrow. I'm sure you'd like to get them off your back."

"That would be nice, yes." He cracked a smile even though he was trying to remain at attention.

"Who was the criminal?"

"An assassin known as Zagi. He encounter Yuri Lowell's group during the Adephagos crisis."

Ioder nodded slowly. "Ah, yes, I remember him. He was on the ship with Barbos and Ragou before Yuri rescued me. I thought he died?"

"He seems to have recovered from his wounds sustained at Tarquaron."

"What a shame. I'll be happy to see him tried and executed for all the deaths he's caused. It's good that he's finally behind bars."

Flynn nodded stiffly. "I agree."

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I just wanted to deliver this news."

"Very well. Thank you for telling me. You are dismissed."

Flynn left the office, and was about to head back to the lower quarter before remembering what Estelle had said about Rita's mage friend from Halure. On second thought, perhaps 'Rita's friend' wasn't the right description for him. In any case, he did feel bad for the kid being left alone with a dead child while the rest of them were off celebrating. Besides, now that they'd apprehended Zagi, gathering evidence wasn't needed.

He entered the lab room and tried not to look at the body on the table. Mrs. Zimmerman had agreed to give the Knights Tabitha's body if it would help them catch her killer, but Flynn couldn't get used to the idea of a little girl being cut open and examined instead of buried and at peace. She lay on a table with a sheet draped over her. It would almost be enough to make it look like she was sleeping, except he could still she the slash across her throat.

"Oh, Commandant Flynn!" Gill jumped up from the desk across from the table. "I was just writing up the results of my findings. Would you like to hear them?"

Flynn didn't have the heart to tell him the killer had already been caught after he spent so much work with a dead child. "Yes, go ahead."

"Ok." He crossed to the table and looked down at Tabitha's face. "I've found a few interesting things. First of all, based on the bleeding patterns, I'm pretty sure the cut through her chest and abdomen occurred  _after_  she was dead."

Flynn shot him a confused look. "Pardon? He killed her first?"

Gill nodded. "I'm pretty sure the cause of death is the slash across her throat. He killed her before cutting her open."

"That's odd… he didn't even take anything out of her chest cavity. Why would he cut her open if his goal wasn't to cause pain?" This was confusing, but also a relief.

Gill shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just telling you what I found. Another thing is that I found traces of ether in her bloodstream."

"Ether? As in the anaesthetic?"

"That's right. Usually doctors use it to knock people out before surgery. She was probably knocked unconscious with ether and then transported to wherever he killed her."

Flynn analyzed Tabitha's face. She looked so small. There was still snatches of blood in her hair. It was probably too much to hope that she'd still been unconscious when her throat was slit, but he would really love to believe she never realized what was happening to her. "Is there anything else?"

"I found traces ash on her pant leg, which is identical to some ash found on a scrap of hair Rita pulled from Abigail Bogs."

"Ash? What kind of ask?"

"Tobacco. Probably from a pipe or a cigar. I think this indicates the perpetrator is a smoker."

Flynn thought this over and slowly nodded. "Thank you for your help with this case."

"Oh, it's no problem! I'm happy to help. Anything I can do to help this poor little girl."

"Right… I'll leave you to it. Good work so far." Flynn left, unease trickling back into him. His relief at capturing Zagi had satisfied him for all of half an hour. It was great that Zagi was behind bars… but now Flynn wasn't so sure he was the Heartbreaker. Everything Yuri had told him about Zagi indicated he wasn't the kind of person who would discreetly drug his victims and then slit their throats before causing them further pain. The few times Flynn had met him, at least fifty percent of his conversation had been screaming about blood and killing. Why would he kill his victims before mutilating them? Besides, they had no indication that Zagi ever touched tobacco, let alone be enough of a smoker he wouldn't put a cigar down while murdering someone.

He worried about this all the way back to the lower quarter. He'd already informed Ioder that the killer had been caught, but what if he was wrong? When he reached the Comet, he felt out of place among the celebrating crowd. The room was warm and bright and the smell of good food filled the air, but he found it hard to feel festive when the fear of making a horrible mistake loomed over him.

"Hey, Flynn!" Karol said. "Glad you made it."

He forced a smile. There was no point dragging everybody else down tonight. Many people from throughout the lower quarter had come out to celebrate, and they all deserved a chance to let loose after the fear that had gripped the community tight for the past two weeks. Flynn got himself a drink from the bar and found a corner to sit in.

A few minutes later, Estelle slid into the seat across from him. "There you are! I was beginning to think you were going to stay at the castle."

"No, I promised I'd come back, so here I am."

"Did you invite Gill?"

Dammit! With all the distressing information he'd completely forgotten that that was the reason he'd gone to see Gill in the first place. To placate Estelle he stammered, "I - uh - I invited him but he said he was busy."

Estelle frowned, seeing through his lie easily. "You should be nicer to him, Flynn. He doesn't know anyone else in town."

He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. It slipped my mind. I'll be more mindful in the future."

She patted his hand. "That's ok. I'm pretty sure Rita will thank you."

"What does Rita have against this boy?"

"She thinks he's annoying. I think he has a crush on her."

Flynn nodded slowly. "Ah. That explains much."

"Speaking of crushes…" Estelle leaned forward and lowered her voice like she was passing state secrets very poorly, "do  _you_  have a crush on anyone, Flynn?"

The question took him off guard and he fumbled for an answer. He briefly thought of his confusion upon seeing Yuri shirtless the other night, but that was dumb. That was nothing. He just thought of it now because he was worried about it. "I - um… no, I don't."

Estelle watched him skeptically. "Are you  _sure_?"

"Quite sure." Not sure at all. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "No reason. Oh, look, Yuri's over there."

Flynn turned his head and saw Yuri leaning on the bar talking to Hanks. He had a grin on his face and a drink in his hand. "Looks like he's enjoying himself."

Estelle smiled and nodded. "He's always so happy when things are working out in the lower quarter."

"The lower quarter has always been Yuri's number one priority. He doesn't have any real family of his own, so he's adopted the whole neighbourhood as his family." Flynn couldn't help the streak of pride when he talked about Yuri. Everything that Yuri had done to save the lower quarter and ultimately the world just proved how great a man he was and Flynn was honoured to call himself Yuri's best friend.

As the hours passed, Flynn let himself relax. He didn't know for sure that Zagi wasn't the Heartbreaker. Maybe there was more to Zagi and his methods than they'd given him credit for. And even if he wasn't the killer they wanted, he  _was_  dangerous and putting him behind bars could only be a good thing. Flynn enjoyed the night drinking and socializing with the lower quarter, although he made sure he didn't have  _too_  much to drink. Some folks had brought instruments and dancing was happening, and if Flynn wanted to maintain any semblance of dignity he needed to keep himself from drunkenly deciding he actually knew how to dance.

And then something happened. Flynn sat by the wall and watched the open area in the middle where the others danced, and then Yuri grabbed Judith's hand and pulled her forward. Unlike Flynn, Yuri actually  _could_  dance without looking like he was having a seizure, and with a few drinks in him and friends all around, he took advantage of this ability. Following the beat in a way Flynn had never been able to figure out, they whirled around each other with graceful movements and Flynn couldn't tear his eyes away.

 _I'm watching Judith_ , he told himself. All the other guys had their eyes locked on her as her barely-contained chest bounced with each movement. That's what he was looking at, like all the other guys… except he couldn't focus on that because in the heat of the crowd Yuri had rolled his sleeves up. Muscles flexed as he picked Judith up by the waist and whirled in a circle. His hair swished, his body twisted, and he had that carefree grin on his face that was just so  _Yuri_. Flynn couldn't tear his eyes away. His face grew warm.

 _It's just the alcohol_ , he said to himself.

Yuri and Judith twisted around and Flynn caught a flash of Yuri's chest through his unbuttoned shirt. Another voice in his mind said,  _It's not just the alcohol_.

 _Yuri's my best friend,_ he insisted.

 _Lady Estellise is your other best friend and watching her dance like this doesn't make your whole body feel hot and tight_.

He really needed Yuri to stop dancing right now. Flames from the lamplight glinted in Yuri's eyes and Flynn's heart beat even faster than the music.

_Admit it._

_No, no, no, no._

He took a big swig of beer, hoping this would drown the surge of thoughts. It didn't help. He placed the glass back on the table more firmly than necessary and looked back to Yuri as the music reached its end. Yuri finished with a twirl and dipped Judith almost completely horizontal. They both came to a stop and took deep breaths after the dance. Yuri's tousled hair framed his sweaty face, his chest moving up and down with each breath, and Flynn couldn't stop himself from feeling envious of Judith's position in his arms.

Yuri pulled her up and they left the dance floor as the musicians picked up another song, but it was too late. Flynn's head was already muddled from just enough alcohol to make him tipsy, and he fell forward so his forehead smacked the table.

_Shit. I've been falling for him, haven't I?_


	5. Dead Ends

Flynn paced around the living room. "It's completely ridiculous. Yuri has been my friend for almost my entire life. That's all there is to it. Except… shit, don't tell anyone I'm admitting this to you but… he's actually really attractive. Especially last night while dancing." That only made him think of all the other times he'd seen Yuri being stupidly good-looking that he'd pointedly ignored. As much as he hated to admit it, Flynn had never been as excited watching a supposedly sexy woman as he had been watching Yuri. He clutched his head as he walked in circles. "I can't keep lying to myself. I - I'm attracted to him. Dammit, I don't need this. Should I tell him? No, I definitely shouldn't tell him. Or should I? Do you think he feels the same way? What do you think?"

Kat stared at him uncomprehendingly, and then yawned.

"You're not being very helpful, Kat." She snuggled her face into her paws from her perch on the back of the couch.

Flynn threw himself onto the couch. "I don't know what to do. Half of me wants to run to his door and drop on one knee and tell him I'm in love with him, and the other half wants to bury my head in a sandbox and never have feelings again."

Kat licked her paws, which wasn't a very helpful answer. She did crawl closer to him and headbutt the back of his head, but he wasn't sure if she was telling him 'go put this head in a sandbox' or 'go confess your feelings'.

Actually, it was more likely, 'go to work, stupid'. He'd dallied at home long enough. Flynn sighed, still not sure what to do about this, and put his shoes on. He paused briefly on the front step to glance at the newspaper, and for once the headline didn't make him grumpy:  _Commandant Flynn Manages to Catch Killer!_  Well, maybe a little grumpy.

Flynn didn't mind living far from the castle, because the walk gave him a chance to think about things. He pulled his hat tighter over his ears and stuck his hands in the pocket of his coat as he made his way up the road to the castle. The windows were frosted and a thin film of ice covered the puddles in the gutter. No one had come to warn him about a murder victim found this morning. Maybe his fear last night had been unfounded. Zagi was insane; who knew what went through his head? Maybe post-mortem eviscerations were his thing now.

The cold air helped clear his head. He regretted not bringing a scarf because his nose was freezing, but the icy air coursing into his lungs woke him up and slapped sense into him. He needed to face the facts: he had feelings for Yuri. He couldn't just ignore them and pretend they never happened, but he couldn't go charging across the city to confess his love, either.

He needed to behave professionally. There was little question that the Council and upper ranks of nobility that he relied on for getting any change accomplished would frown on such a relationship. Yuri was male, from the lower quarter, and currently in a guild. With three strikes against him, it would never be condoned. No one would outright forbid him from having a relationship with Yuri, but he didn't need the drama. No action should be taken, because surely Yuri wouldn't want him to risk his job for a relationship, even  _if_  he happened to reciprocate.

At the castle, he stopped by Leblanc's office to check on the status with Zagi. "Has he confessed to the murders?"

Leblanc shook his head. "Not yet, sir. We've tried to talk to him, but all he does is shout about Yuri Lowell and how he's going to kill all of us."

"I didn't expect much else. Well, keep trying." He'd been hoping for a confession, which would really soothe his worries about the potential for a different killer. There wasn't anything he could do about it now, so he went to his office and got to work on the million other things he had to worry about that weren't a serial killer.

Flynn got a lot accomplished that morning, and was feeling pretty good about his productivity when the door burst open. Expecting Yuri, he was surprised when he looked up and saw Estelle rushing toward him. "Lady Estellise? What is-"

"I figured it out!" She reached his desk and slammed papers on the table. "The letters on the victims' arms! I cracked it!"

"That's excellent!" After catching Zagi last night and now this, he couldn't feel too bad about the direction this case was going. "What does it mean?"

"Well, I was trying to figure out what the missing organs meant." She clearly wanted to explain how she'd figured it out rather than jumping to the conclusion, but Flynn was in too good a mood to rush her. "I was looking at the fact list of all the victim details and comparing it to the strings of letters, and I noticed something. See, this is the word on Victoria's right arm." She pointed to her paper. "M-J-F-W-Y. She lost her heart. Then there's Tomas. The letters on his right arms are V-E-X-Q-C and he lost his lungs. Terrence lost his eyes and the first word is H-B-H-V. Do you see?"

He didn't, but he got a vague idea of where she was going. "You're saying the missing organ is a clue to the letters?"

"It's the key to the cipher! Look, M is five spaces away from H. J is five spaces away from E, and so on. M-J-F-W-Y is code for 'heart'. All the letters have been shifted five letters further. If we apply the five letter shift to the letters on her left arm, B-M-D, it becomes the word 'why'."

Flynn pulled the paper closer. "You're right. Lady Estellise, you've cracked it!"

She beamed at him. "It follows through with all of them. All the letters on the right arms refer to the organ that was taken, though not all are five shifts. Tomas' code is ten shifts, and Abigail's is eight, for example."

Flynn pulled his eyes from the page. "The words come together to create a phrase, I'm assuming?"

Estelle's smile wavered now that she had to move on from her proud discovery to the meat of the message. "Yes… well, it says 'why haven't you caught me'."

Flynn stared at her for a moment. "I see… so it was a taunt."

"Putting it together with the message from the street names, we can assume it's being directed at you."

"Yes, most likely. 'Why haven't you caught me, Flynn?' Good try, Zagi, I hope that's funny from the dungeon where I've caught you."

"It seems weird that Zagi would do something like this, though," Estelle said, frowning at the paper. "He never struck me as the subtle type."

"I agree it's very strange." Ioder had already announced to the Council that the Heartbreaker had been caught. It was in the papers, even. If another victim showed up… this wasn't going to look good for him. There wasn't anything he could do about it now, though. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

"Uh-huh, no problem. I'm going to go see if Rita and Gill have found anything else. Goodbye!"

Estelle scurried out, leaving Flynn to return to his work in a lower mood than before. Everything was perfect right now, but he felt as if he was wavering on a precipice and any moment now a sixth body was going to show up to knock him over.

* * *

Rita's face was almost completely obscured by the combination of hat and scarf. She walked with her shoulders hunched and her gloved hands buried deep in the pockets of her thick coat.

Yuri reached over and tugged on the pompom on top of her hat. "Can you even see through all that?" Yuri asked.

"Well enough to punch you if you mess with my hat again." She yanked it back into place and tried to look threatening, though it dampened by the fact that her voice was muffled by a fluffy red scarf.

Yuri just laughed. "Yeah, all right." He couldn't completely blame her. There was no snow on the ground but it was certainly cold enough for it

They walked through the upper tiers of the public quarter. The sky was a solid slate of pale grey and the bushes lining the road were turning brown. A thin skin of ice covered the puddles at the side of the road, but it wasn't enough to grind the city to halt. They walked through crowds going about their day, and Rita grew grumpier and grumpier the more times someone's shopping bag banged her knee as they walked by.

"Why is Flynn even making us do this? Doesn't he have an entire army of knights to send around doing the leg work?"

"Yeah, but the official word is that Zagi was the murderer and he's been caught." Yuri turned off the main road and onto a side street. He didn't give Rita any warning before doing this, so she scrambled to catch up after continuing forward for a few steps. Yuri was so familiar with the streets of his home that he sometimes forgot Rita didn't know where she was going in Zaphias. "If Flynn sends his own knights on information gathering missions, it would be publicly stating he's uncertain about the arrest he made. He doesn't want that kind of drama, so we're doing it for him."

This street was lined in smaller shops, with wooden signs hanging over the doors painted with colourful logos. Yuri didn't know what half of them sold, but one seemed to be full of magical talismans and other mystical bullshit if the shrivelled basilisk claw in the window was any indication, and another was a thrift shop selling fancy noble gowns at discounted prices.

"At least it's just the two of us," Rita grumbled.

"Oh? You wanted some alone time?"

She punched his ribs. "No, I mean, I practically had to climb out a window to escape the castle without Gill tagging along."

Yuri laughed. "Seems like someone likes you."

"He's so annoying!"

"He is the one who found the traces of ether in the first place, though. Look, this is it." Yuri grabbed the door of the apothecary and stepped inside, accompanied by a jingling bell.

"Yeah, whatever. I would have found it given enough time."

"You're just bitter because Gill is better at autopsies than you are."

"I don't need to take this from you. You have no idea what you're looking for in here, so you might as well just wait outside."

Yuri shivered. "In the cold? No way."

"Just don't get in my way." Rita marched up to the counter, where the man behind the desk was nervously watching them bicker.

"Er… can I help you, young lady?"

"Yeah." She slapped her fist on the wooden countertop. "We want a list of every person in the last couple of months who've purchased diethyl ether."

Yuri leaned sideways and let Rita do her thing. He had never even been in an apothecary before, and found himself eyeing the rows of glass bottles on shelves behind the counter. He couldn't make out all the labels from here, but the ones he could read didn't mean anything to him anyway. They were all chemicals with too-long names or herbs he'd never even heard of.

It had been Flynn's idea to send them to the apothecary. He was nervous about some things Gill had said last night, and with the evidence that the killer had used ether on his victims, he'd decided he wanted to see if any apothecaries remembered selling ether to Zagi. If not, it would be helpful to know who else might have access to it.

The man hesitated. "I'm not really supposed to give out my clients' information. Many people get items here for highly personal issues…"

Rita rolled her eyes and then dug into her pocket. "Will you tell us for five hundred gald?"

The man thought for a moment, and then slowly pulled the bag of gald closer to him. "Well… I suppose no one specifically  _asked_  me to keep it a secret."

What a chump. Yuri didn't have any reason to come to an apothecary, but he told himself never to come to this one just in case. It was disgusting how easy it was to buy this guy out. He wasn't going to complain, of course, because it worked in their favour, but it was still insulting.

He pulled a ledger out from under the counter and skimmed through it with a pencil. He made a few marks while flipping through the pages, and after a few minutes he pushed it toward them. "All right, I've marked every person who has purchased ether from me in the past three months. It's primarily doctors who use it to put people out for surgeries."

"I think we can cross out the doctors," Yuri said. "The ones who have been using it legitimately for years probably aren't who we're looking for."

"All right." The man went through and erased most of his marks, scowling as he did so. "That leaves you a much shorter list."

Rita pulled out a slip of paper and borrowed the man's pen without asking. "Great. Let me write these down."

Yuri peered over the pages. Only five names were left, and he read them aloud. "The first was… Yul Gregory, then Cynthia Carlton, Ernest Carter, Ivan Egbert, and Angela Klapp." Yuri pushed the book back to the shopkeeper. "Do you know what these guys wanted it for?"

"Uh… well, Mr. Gregory uses it for science experiments, I think. I'm not sure about the others. Lord Carter bought it along with his normal arthritis medications, so I'm assuming he wanted to use it for that. I'm not sure about the others, but Angela Klapp has been purchasing it about every two weeks for the past couple of months. She'll probably be in tomorrow night, if that helps.."

"Thanks," Yuri said. "Don't tell anyone we asked."

"Right…"

After Rita slammed the door shut, they started walking back toward the castle. "Lord Carter… that sounds familiar."

Yuri shrugged. "I don't know. Ask Estelle - she knows all the nobles around here."

"Oh, that's it!" Rita's face lit up. "He's the guy we met at the catacombs." She scowled and added, "He was kind of creepy."

"I'm pretty sure I know who this Angela Klapp is, too. She's that reporter who won't give Flynn a break. I saw her at the crime scene with Trout when Abigail was found."

"With Trout, huh? That sounds pretty fishy if you ask me."

"I'm not sure what to make of it. Let's see if Karol and Judy found anyone suspicious at the other apothecary and compare notes."

They walked the rest of the way to the castle, more quickly than usual because Rita was eager to get out of the cold. When they got to Flynn's office, Karol and Judith were already waiting for them.

"Hey, Yuri," Karol said. "Did you guys find anything?"

"A couple interesting names." Rita sat on the arm of Judith's chair and Yuri leaned against Flynn's desk.

Flynn wearily pulled a stack of paper out of the way before Yuri had a chance to knock it over. "What do you have to report, Yuri?"

"First of all, don't expect me to give an official report like we're working for you or anything. We're not knights, you know."

"I know, I just want to hear what you found."

"Right. Well, we have a list of all the people who bought ether who aren't long-time doctors. There's five people."

"That's about what we got," Judith said. "Most customers have been buying it for years because they're doctors. There were only a few anomalies."

Rita handed Flynn the list and he scanned over it. "Lord Carter? Interesting. That reporter woman, too. Would you guys mind interviewing these people for me? Sorry, I still can't afford to actually get the knights involved."

"Of course we can!" Karol said, sitting up proudly. "Brave Vesperia is on the case."

Flynn smiled at him. "Excellent, thank you. I'm sure Lady Estellise and Mr. Raven will be willing to help, too. Between your two lists, there are nine potential suspects."

"And none of them are Zagi," Yuri pointed out.

Flynn nodded. "Right. Maybe he got it from another source, though. I'm not sure, but I'd like to check these people out. You should split into pairs and interview all these people one by one. Leave Lord Carter to me - as a noble, it may be more difficult to get him to talk to you. I'd also like you to save Ms. Klapp for last. If she finds out we're doing this, you can bet it will be on the front page tomorrow."

"The guy at the store said she'd probably be back tomorrow night to buy more," Yuri said. "We should stalk her and see what she does with it."

"Oh, that sounds fun," Judith said with a playful smile. "I'll go with you, ok?"

"That sounds like a good plan. Just don't get caught."

Yuri rolled his eyes at Flynn. "You don't have to warn me, geeze."

* * *

Lord Carter answered his own door when Flynn stopped by. He was one of those nobles that clung to the title due to family history, but his wealth and political impact had dwindled over the generations so he was rivalled in wealth by some commoners. He only had a few servants to take care of the house, and they all went to their own homes in the evenings.

"Good morning, Commandant."

Flynn glanced at the sky. The sun had finally broken through the clouds and shone strong and bright. "I believe it's afternoon, actually."

"Is it? Oh… oh, dear, I do lose track of these things. Come in, come in, you're letting the warm air out."

Flynn wiped his shoes on the mat and then stepped onto a faded carpet running along a narrow hallway. Carter closed the door and then led Flynn down the hall toward a warm sitting room, where a fire roaring in the hearth coaxed feeling back into Flynn's ears. Carter sat in an armchair that had a dented imprint from always being sat in at the exact same place and gestured to a plain blue loveseat. Flynn sat stiffly on the edge of the seat, glancing around the room. It certainly didn't look like the den of a serial killer, with doilies on the end tables and crotchet pillowcases, but you never knew.

"Is there something you need, Commandant? Do you need access to the catacombs? I do that, you know… I operate the catacombs."

"Yes, sir, I am aware of that."

"I operate the catacombs… not that anyone cares anymore." He sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair.

"I wanted to ask you about a recent purchase you made at the apothecary on Fleet Street."

Carter's wrinkled face wrinkled further. "Apothecary…? When was…?"

"This would have been approximately a month and a half ago."

"Oh! Oh, yes, I remember now. Went to the apothecary, I did. I bought Ether. Do you need some? I don't have it anymore, actually… used it all up."

"I see. What did you use it for?"

Another long sigh whistled through his teeth. "Gave it to my son. You mix it with alcohol, you know, and it turns into a good medicine. He's very sick… helps with pain relief…"

"I'm sorry to hear that." Lord Carter did not look like a serial killer. He shuffled around his house with wrists crippled by arthritis and a mind so frequently absent it would lose marks in class. Flynn could not for the life of him picture this man cutting a little girl open and then ripping out her tongue, but he had to be thorough. He never would have imagined Alexei would betray them, either. First of all, he should confirm that Carter was telling the truth about giving the ether to his son. "Where is your son? May I wish him well?"

"He isn't here. My boy is grown up now. Lives on his own… doesn't have much time for his father. I try to help when I can."

"That's a shame. Please pass my sympathies along to him." So, he claimed he gave the drug to a sick son, but now couldn't produce said son to prove the person really was sick? Flynn made a mental note to check into that. "Who is his doctor?"

Carter shrugged. "No one in particular… I just took him to Princess Elisabetta's."

That was the small hospital that served those in the royal quarter - or anyone who could afford it - who didn't have their own private doctor. "Do you visit your son often?"

"When I can, when I can." He nodded in satisfaction. "He never has time for me these days. You know how children are… I suppose you never call on your father, either."

Flynn stiffened a little at that. He didn't want to go into his personal life, so he said, "I… no, I suppose I haven't seen him in a while."

"You do that, young man." Carter wagged his finger at him. "We parents just like to know our kids are getting on… doing well… Make sure you visit your folks."

He was afraid he was digging himself deeper into outright lying. He'd just wanted to skate over the truth to carry the conversation along, but now it would be awkward to point out his parents were both dead. "Yes. I will." He hoped Carter didn't notice how dry his throat had become. Quick to move the conversation forward, he asked, "Were you visiting your son the night before last?"

"The night before last?" Carter tilted his head and rubbed his scratchy chin. "Where was I last night again…?"

Someone the night before last night had been murdering Tabitha Zimmerman, and Flynn was quite interested in whether Carter had proof it wasn't him.

"Ohhh, I remember now." He nodded slowly. "I went out that night. That's right, I went out… I went to my bowling club."

Drat, he had an alibi. It was beginning to look like this lead really was nothing. A bowling club would include a club-ful of others to confirm his alibi.

"Is there anything else you wanted, Commandant?"

Flynn shook his head. Hopefully Yuri or the others would have better luck with their interviews. "No, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. Thank you for your time."

On his way back to the castle, Flynn decided to stop by the hospital to ask about Carter's son, just in case. If the son was imaginary, that would open a hole that maybe more evidence could squeeze through. If the son was real, it would close this avenue of investigation for good. There were very few hospitals serving the royal quarter, because most people had their own private doctors. For those that didn't, though, it was the best.

He walked up the stone steps of the old brick building and into quiet lobby. So many apple gels were administered that the smell of apples lurked in every corner, always at the furthest edge of being noticed. He walked across the polished wooden floor to the front desk. "Excuse me, I would like to make an enquiry about a certain patient."

The clerk behind the desk smiled and reached for her folders. "Of course, Commandant. Which patient are you interested in?"

"I merely wish to know if Lord Ernest Carter's son has been treated here."

"Carter? Carter…" She slipped her tongue between her lips and flipped through the folders. After a minute, she pulled one out. "Ah, here we go. Yes, Timothy Carter was administered two months ago complaining of chest pains. There was nothing we could do for him, so the doctor recommended he take plenty of gels and if he needed something strong, an anaesthetic drug like laudanum or spirit of ether." She looked up from the file. "Is that helpful?"

Flynn tried not to show his disappointment. Carter really was completely in the clear. He smiled and said, "Yes, that's just what I needed to know."

"Oh, good." She closed the folded and then glanced around nervously. "Er… you won't tell anyone I told you, will you? Only, I'm not supposed to give out patient information, but you're the commandant so who's going to arrest me?"

"Yes, of course, you're fine. I apologize, I shouldn't have asked you to breach your confidentiality. Have a nice day."

Flynn left the hospital, hoping the others would have more useful information.

* * *

Something soft and warm climbed on his face. Flynn buried his face in the pillow and pulled his blanket to his chin for protection. This didn't deter Kat, who prowled around his head meowing. She bumped her head against the side of his face and purred a little louder. Flynn cracked his eyes open to glance at the clock. It was still dark and his eyes were fuzzy so it took a few seconds to make out what position the hands were in.

"Kat… it's barely five… go to sleep." He wasn't ready to face the day yet. He'd met with Brave Vesperia yesterday and concluded that they'd found a whole lot of nothing. None of the people who had bought ether had anything else that tied them to the case.

She wouldn't go to sleep. She paced around his bed, purring and headbutting, until Flynn gave up. He wasn't going to get back to sleep until he took care of whatever it was she wanted from him. Maybe if he was lucky he'd be able to go back to bed and get another half hour before he needed to get up for work. Dislodging himself from the warm cocoon of his blanket, Flynn reluctantly stood. Kat hopped off the bed and led the way out of the room. Flynn followed, wondering why he even had a cat. The house was freezing. It had probably snowed last night and his pyjamas were not nearly warm enough for walking around the house this early. The sun hadn't even risen yet.

Downstairs, Kat scratched at the front door and then looked back pleadingly at him. Flynn glared at her. "Is that what this is? You want to go out?"

She meowed and scratched the door again.  
Flynn groaned and walked to the door because he wasn't awake enough to reason with her. "You're an indoor cat. If you have to pee, go to your litter box." He unlocked the door and opened it, wincing at the gust of cold air allowed into the house. "Go. Be free. Let me sleep."

Kat sat in the doorway and meowed. Flynn gave her a dry look, because if she'd made all this fuss only to decide now that she didn't want to go out after all, he might have to strangle her. "Look, it's lovely out, go-" he looked to the street and his heart stopped.

A dead body lay sprawled before his front step, the skin pale, frozen, and covered in a thin layer of powdery snow. The victim was a knight, but his shirt had been ripped open. Thankfully his torso was still in one piece, but instead if ripping him open, a message had been carved into his flesh. There was no beating around the bush with codes and ciphers this time. In block text carved into his chest and stomach were the words, 'I'm offended, Flynn'.

"Shit," Flynn whispered, his fingers going numb with the icy grip he had on the doorknob. He'd known this was going to happen. Zagi wasn't their killer, and the real Heartbreaker was apparently quite miffed that Zagi was getting credit for his work. If there was any question after the message Estelle had decoded that this was personal, it was gone now. Fury filled him, almost enough to banish the chill. This monster had murdered one of his own knights to make a point and it was more obvious than ever that these murders were personally directed at Flynn.

Kat was about to step forward when Flynn scooped her up. He didn't need cat hair getting all over the body. She squirmed but he held her firmly against his chest, relishing her warmth. He stroked the back of her neck and stared at the body, figuring out what to do. The street was still dark and deserted, but that wouldn't last much longer. He needed to get dressed and get to the castle so he could send a squad down here to take care of the body. He also needed to inform Ioder that he'd made a fool of himself in announcing Zagi's capture, and then dread the inevitable newspaper articles ripping him to shreds. He sighed and squeezed Kat tighter. It was going to be a long day.


	6. An Expert Opinion

Yuri lay on the floor in Flynn's office, tossing a crumpled ball of paper between his hands over his chest. Flynn didn't know why Yuri lay on the floor when there were chairs available, but he couldn't say it was entirely unexpected.

"So, what do we do now?" Yuri asked.

"We rekindle our efforts to identify the killer."

"What are the odds of having  _two_  psychotic murderers in Zaphias at the same time? Damn, I was really hoping catching Zagi would be the end of this."

"If it makes you feel better, at least they both don't seem to be after you. The Heartbreaker is obsessed with me instead." Flynn paused and tapped his pen against the desk. "I really want to know why. What have I ever done to make enemies?"

Yuri caught the paper ball and crumpled it further while pausing to give Flynn an incredulous look.

Flynn frowned, and then corrected himself. "All right, well, my enemies are usually of the political nature rather than murderous freaks."

Yuri tossed the paper to his other hand. "A case could be made for Ragou being a murderous freak as well as political."

"Yes, but Ragou is dead." A long silence filled the air. Flynn still disapproved of Yuri's actions while Yuri still didn't regret them, and they'd come to a mutual decision not to argue about it anymore because that would cause nothing but strife. The subject of Ragou and Cumore was always enough to make any conversation a little awkward. Flynn pushed the conversation forward. "I feel like this guy is just taunting me."

"Maybe he is. Maybe he thinks it's fun to stay one step ahead of the commandant. Maybe he just wants to see you squirm."

Flynn scowled. "He's certainly doing a good job." He still couldn't get the image of the dead knight out of his head. The man had been identified as Michael Hart, and he was knight from Leblanc's unit. He'd been off duty last night, heading home after working a day shift, and his wife said he never came home. She assumed he got held up at work, but it now appeared obvious he'd been abducted and murdered like all the others.

Not exactly like the others, though. He didn't have missing organs or hidden messages on his arms, which Flynn hoped meant the killer was done with his little code. What worried him the most was that if he hadn't arrested Zagi and announce the killer captured, Hart probably wouldn't have been murdered. He'd only been killed to prove to Flynn that the real killer was still out there, which made it Flynn's fault his knight had been killed.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Flynn pulled his eyes up. "I'm fine."

"You look upset."

"I found a dead body on my doorstep this morning. Of course I'm upset."

"Yeah, I guess that would do that to you." He tossed the ball but missed, and then got up to chase it down.

"I can't wait for the evening paper to announce this," Flynn grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back. "The reporter Angie Klapp is going to have a field day."

"Oh, yeah." Yuri grabbed the crumpled paper and straightened up. "I ran into Trout on the way in today. He was trying to convince the knights to let him into the castle so he could have a word with you."

"Was he?"

"Yeah. Catch."

Flynn caught the ball in one hand and then scrunched it tight. "Still certain he can solve this one, I suppose. Did I tell you I looked up what exactly he did to get discharged?"

"No. Do tell." He sat in a proper chair across Flynn's desk, eyeing him grumpily as Flynn tossed the paper in the garbage instead of throwing it back.

"Apparently he disobeyed orders and tried to charge in and do his own thing. Him leaving his position caused a couple of other knights to be killed."

"This arrogant self-importance is just a thing of his, then."

"So it would seem."

The door knocked and Ioder entered. Flynn shot to his feet. "Good afternoon, Your Majesty."

Yuri leaned over the back of his chair and waved his hand once. "Yo."

Flynn glared at him for not showing proper respect to the emperor, but Ioder didn't seem to mind. He sat next to Yuri and motioned for Flynn to take a seat.

"How can I help you, sir?"

"I'm sure you can guess. The Council isn't happy about Michael Hart's death."

Yuri crossed his arms. "None of us are happy about it."

"Mr. Hart was a member of the nobility," Ioder said. "Though low-ranking, it's got the royal quarter in a tizzy."

Flynn nodded in resignation. "And I'm sure they're all blaming me for catching the wrong guy."

Ioder hesitated, then said, "Yes."

Flynn let out a deep breath. "I apologize for my mistake, Your Majesty. We made an error, but it won't happen again."

"I trust you, Flynn. I also believe capturing Zagi can only be a good thing, even if there is still someone else we also need to capture. I just wanted to warn you that the Council isn't happy with you."

"Thank you for the warning."

"I'll leave you to your work. Good luck catching this person."

Ioder left, and Yuri grabbed a piece of paper out of Flynn's garbage to crumple into another ball. Flynn watched him for a few moments, and then asked, "Were you planning to hang out in my office all day?"

"You have somewhere better for me to be?"

Flynn rolled his eyes. "Just stay quiet so I can get things done."

The door opened. "Knock, knock," Raven said on his way in.

"Hey, Old Man." Yuri tossed his new paper ball at Raven, who dodged it and let it hit the door and fall to the floor.

Flynn hoped he picked it up, but somehow doubted that would happen. "Do you need something, Cap - Mr. Raven?"

"Yeah, the kid here asked me to do some poking around so I thought I'd check in."

Yuri swung into an upright position on the floor. "You find anything?"

Raven scowled. "Nope." For Flynn's benefit, he explained what he'd been doing. "Yuri and I figured mass murderers don't appear overnight, and that someone in the city's underground woulda heard of him, or at least have an inklin' who this creep is. Ol' Raven's got informants throughout the city and more ears ta the ground than a cornfield in a windstorm, so I figured  _someone_  would have somethin' ta tell me."

"And you got nothing?"

"Not even a rumour." Raven shook his head and rested one hand on his belt. "No one's heard nothin', and let me tell ya, that's not for lack o' tryin'. All the big gangsters wanna know who's doin' it. Even the loner freaks are intrigued. Now, I think that's 'cause they think this guy's the bees knees and wanna learn from him, but the point stands."

"So, he has no ties to Zaphias' underworld." Flynn frowned and tapped his fingers on the desk. "He's either new in town, or so much of a loner that he never even socializes with the rest of the freaks and outcasts."

"Or he's not an outcast at all," Yuri pointed out. "Maybe he's a noble with a weird kink."

"Could be. We don't have the resources to investigate every single person in Zaphias who isn't part of the criminal underground, though. All this tells us is what he is not, rather than an actual lead."

Raven shrugged and held up his hands. "Hey, don't blame me. I'm just reportin' what I found."

"Yes, sorry, Mr. Raven. I didn't mean to belittle your work."

Raven chuckled. "Don't worry 'bout it. Anyway, I'm headin' back ta the bar. Ya comin', kid?"

Yuri glanced to Flynn, who said, "Go, Yuri. I don't want you in my office if you're bored. You'll break something."

"Heh, fine. Don't work yourself too hard, ok?"

Yuri and Raven left, and Flynn got back to work.

* * *

Yuri knew it was cold, because Judith had actually put on a jacket. They lurked in the shadows between a thrift store and music store, watching the apothecary. If Angie didn't show up tonight, Yuri was going to flip a table. They'd been skulking in the freezing darkness for over an hour already.

"I'm bored," Judith pouted and leaned against the thrift shop.

"Well, find some way to entertain yourself."

A long puff of fog appeared as she sighed, and then she reached for the lid of a trash can and scooped up a handful of snow. Yuri kept his eyes on the apothecary, until a jab of ice struck his neck and he jumped in surprise. "Ah! Hey!" He flailed at the neck of his shirt while Judith giggled. It was too late to get the snow out, so he gripped the cold neck of his shirt until it warmed up. "That's not what I meant."

"I thought it would be fun being a spy, but we're just standing around waiting."

"We have to check this reporter out, though." The urgency of the ether investigation had increased now that a sixth body had shown up this morning. Yuri wasn't keen on how personal this was becoming for Flynn, either. He really wished he could go at least a few months without worrying about the guy, but Flynn always seemed to get himself dragged into messes.

"I know." She sighed melodramatically. "I think I like fighting more than sneaking, though."

"Yeah, you've never struck me as the subtle type."

Judith leaned against his back and playfully smirked. "Oh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Yuri half-heartedly tried to shrug her off. "What are you doing?"

"Actually, I'm just stealing your warmth." She shoved her hands through the collar of his shirt and gripped his shoulders.

Yuri jerked away and struggled to throw her off. "Dammit, Judy! Your hands are like ice!"

"I know. That's why I want you to warm them up for me."

Yuri dropped to his knees to slip out of her grasp, and then scooped a handful of snow off the ground. He leapt back to his feet and shoved it down the front of her coat. "See how you like it."

"Ohh, that's pretty cold."

Yuri clutched his now-freezing hands together and rubbed vigorously. "W-w-what?" he said through chattering teeth. "Aren't even c-cold?"

She managed to pull some of the snow out before it melted and then shrugged. "Oh, it's cold, it just doesn't bother me that much."

Yuri stuck his hands in his armpits. "Then what was with laying those icy claws on me?"

She smirked. "I just thought it would be fun to watch you squirm."

Yuri slowly shook his head. "You really are heartless."

"Oh, there!" Judith hissed, pointing over Yuri's shoulder. "It's her."

Yuri turned around, the snow feud forgotten. A woman made her way toward the apothecary. It was hard to see in the dim light, but the snow on the ground helped brighten things up and he caught a glimpse of frizzy red hair sticking out from under a hat. "That's her, all right."

Yuri and Judith waited silently as Angie entered the shop. A few minutes later, she slipped out again with a paper bag held tightly to her chest. "Let's follow her," Judith said.

Yuri nodded and the pair crept out of the alley. They waited for her to get far enough ahead and then fell into pace behind her. Angie led them off Fleet Street and along the main road through the public quarter. There were still a few other people on the street to blend in with, and they walked just slow enough that they could pass as a couple on a romantic stroll while still keeping pace with Angie. So far, she hadn't noticed them following.

After ten minutes, she stepped off the main road and into a residential area. Yuri and Judith followed, but now they were alone on the street with her. They walked past rows of narrow townhouses similar to Flynn's, on a street with small, decorative trees dusted in snow.

Suddenly, Judith pushed Yuri against one of these trees and grabbed his face. He was more than a little surprised when her lips hit his mouth, but one glance ahead showed Angie looking back at them. Judith had caught her movement only seconds before she turned around, and Yuri played along. He wrapped his arms around Judith's waist and pressed his lips against her face, doing his best to make cold and awkward kiss look convincingly passionate.

She rubbed her face into his neck and whispered, "Is she still looking?"

Yuri risked another glance. "No."

"Oh, good." She dropped her arms, pulled away, and wiped her mouth.

"What, am I that bad a kisser?"

"Hmm, I've had better."

He lightly jabbed her shoulder, but kept walking to keep up with Angie. She turned up a short path to one of the houses and knocked on the door, and Judith pulled Yuri up to the door of the neighbouring house. Lurking in the doorway, she pressed against him again and resumed the kissing act, while Yuri listened intently for Angie's voice.

The door opened, but nobody said a word. "What's she doing?" Yuri asked. He couldn't see with his back against the wall.

Judith raised her head enough to see around the stone entryway they hid in and whispered, "She's kissing someone."

"Seems like a popular thing to do on this street."

"Yes, but she seems to actually be into him. He looks familiar."

He finally heard Angie's voice. "I got it."

"Oh, good." The voice sounded familiar, too, but Yuri couldn't place it. "Did anyone see you?"

"No, I was discreet as always."

"Of course you were."

"I can't stay long. I need to finish that article about the commandant's screw up for tomorrow's paper. I just wanted to let you know we're good to go."

"Of course, darling. Tomorrow, then?"

"M-hm. Come to my place at nine. Make sure nobody sees you coming. The last thing we need is people asking questions…"

"I know, I know. We've done this before, Angie. How much did you get?"

"750 millilitres."

The man whistled. "This murder thing is really working out for you, isn't it?"

"Mm, papers are flying off the press. I'll see you tomorrow, Jasper, ok?"

Jasper! That's where Yuri knew him from. That was Trout's name. Somehow, he wasn't at all surprised that Trout was mixed up in this. He heard footsteps and Judith pulled him closer, pulling laying a kiss on his closed lips and running her hand through his hair as Angie walked by. She glanced their way, but paid them no mind.

When she was gone, Judith pulled back and turned around. Angie had disappeared around the corner. "I don't think we need to follow her any longer."

"Yeah. Pretty sure what we just witnessed is the most exciting thing that's gonna happen tonight. Man, I knew Trout was suspicious."

"Do you think they're the culprits? From the sound of it, Angie is making a lot of money from all this drama. That could be a motive."

"I'm not sure. It's definitely fishy. I want to check out what they're doing tomorrow night. Whatever it is, the more secret they want to keep it, the more I want to know what it is."

Judith nodded. "Right. Neither of them have any medical reason to need ether, so whatever it is they're doing with it, I doubt it's innocent."

They stepped down to the street and walked back in the direction they'd come. "I want to stop at Flynn's house," Yuri said. "He ought to know what Trout and Klapp are up to."

"Oh, I see. Any excuse for a late-night stop with Flynn, right?" she smirked at him.

Yuri glared back. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I can give you more kissing practice if you want."

Yuri shoved her into a tree, causing a flurry of snow to rain down from the disturbed branches.

* * *

Someone knocked on Estelle's door, and she hurried over. She was relieved to find Raven when she opened it; she'd been expecting him. "Hello, Raven."

"Yo. May I ask why the Great Raven has been summoned to a beautiful lady's room?"

Estelle blushed and stammered, "N-no! It's not like that at all. I need your help with something."

"Help from the old man? I'm honoured! What can I do for ya, darlin'?"

Estelle glanced around the hall, and then motioned for him to enter. She closed the door and then sat in an armchair by the window. Raven sat on the loveseat across from her, looking around her room curiously. Estelle smoothed the folds in her dress and bit her lip. She felt bad about it, but she could never bring herself to fully let her guard down when she was alone with Raven, which wasn't often.

Raven leaned forward. "So, what's this about?"

"It's about… Zagi." She folded her hands in her lap and fiddled her thumbs. "You heard about the murder yesterday morning, right?"

Raven nodded. "Yeah. It's a real shame, after all the kid did the other night to bring Zagi in."

"I feel awful for Flynn." She looked to her knees. "He was so upset when I saw him yesterday morning. He found the body right in front of his house. That's so terrible."

"He'll be fine. Flynn's tough. Is that what you're worried about?"

"I  _am_  worried about Flynn, but there's something else. I was thinking…" she raised her head so she could watch Raven's expression as she explained her idea. "Zagi isn't the Heartbreaker. The real killer is some other guy who's murderous and crazy. How are we going to catch this guy if we don't understand why he's acting this way? We need to figure out what his reasons are for killing these people and maybe then we can work out who he is. None of us understand the mind of a psychotic killer, but…"

Raven nodded in understanding. "You thought Zagi might help?"

Estelle frowned. "I know it's a long shot. Even if he can help, I doubt he would be willing."

"We can always try. I gotta ask, though - why'd ya come ta me?"

"Well… I figured there was no point bringing Yuri down there. Zagi is too obsessed with fighting him to even try having a rational conversation. Flynn and Rita wouldn't approve and Karol would probably be too nervous or freaked out. I thought, between you and Judith, that you have the most experience dealing with information gathering and that sort of thing."

Raven nodded slowly and stroked his chin. "Yeah, I can see that. Well, if ya wanna talk ta him, I'll go with ya."

"Would you? Thank you so much."

She had a feeling Raven would jump off a bridge if she asked. She knew he only went out of the way for her because he felt so guilty about Alexei, but it was nice that he was earnestly trying to make amends.

With Raven in tow, she led the way to the dungeon. The guards let them pass without much fuss, since no one was going to stand in the way of Lady Estellise and Captain Schwann. The barred door to the cells clanged shut behind them, and they steadily made their way down the row. Estelle didn't come down here often, and she wasn't sure what to expect when she reached the last cell on the left.

Zagi paced in circles around his cell. When Estelle and Raven stopped in front of his cell, he came up short and glared at them. "You're Yuri's friends."

Estelle nodded hesitantly. "Yes. My name is Estelle, and this is-"

"I don't care about your names. Where is Yuri Lowell?"

"He's not comin'. We'd like a word with ya."

Zagi leaned against the cell door, resting his arms on the horizontal bar. "I'm sure you do. Just like all the little knights have been asking me, too. There's a murderer in town, isn't there?" He grinned. "I'm honoured you think it's me. I hear he's done an excellent job at slicing people up."

"We know it isn't you," Estelle said.

"Yeah," Raven said. "This guy's way more competent."

Zagi's grin slipped. "More competent? What a joke! I'm the greatest warrior you'll ever meet."

Raven casually slipped his hands behind his head and leaned against the wall. "Well, ya can say that all ya want, but the fact remains that you're in here and this other guy is still out killin' people."

Zagi grabbed the bars. "Let me out of here and I'll prove it! How many has he killed? Five? I'll kill ten!"

"Um, that's not really what we want you to prove," Estelle said.

"You know who this guy is, don'tcha?"

Zagi pulled back from the bars and smirked. "I see what you want from me. You think you can get me to help you catch this guy. It's not going to work. I quite enjoy watching this little show. The more the bodies stack up, the more exciting it is!"

"Really?" Raven said, lowering his arms. "You wanna see a guy ran around and break your record? You want to see him get all the credit as the most terrifyin' villain ever seen in Zaphias?"

Zagi maintained his cocky smirk, but Estelle noticed it waver for a fraction of a second. "If you help us catch him, everyone will know you outsmarted him. We'll all know you really are better, and he won't have time to match your body count."

Zagi shifted from foot to foot, clearly torn. Raven tried one more encouragement. "How about if ya help us, we let ya fight with Yuri?"

Estelle shot him a look. They couldn't promise Zagi that without consulting Yuri first. Of course, Yuri would probably agree. Zagi seemed intrigued and she didn't want to ruin the chance to get his help by smashing that piece of bribery, even though the thought of willingly putting Yuri into danger made her stomach squirm. He was always running off and sticking his neck out for others, but one of these days his escapades were going to break it. She couldn't always get to him in time to heal his injuries, and not every injury could be healed with magic.

"You'd let me fight him?" He approached the bars again. "That's what I want. A fight to the death. Your knights are going to execute me, aren't you? I want to fight Yuri Lowell. If anyone is going to destroy me, I want it to be him. One last thrilling battle."

Raven looked to Estelle, who hesitated. They could always go back on their deal. No one would hold it against them if they promised Zagi a fight and then never delivered. Estelle would feel bad, though. Breaking promises and lying was something bad people did. But if it helped them catch this murderer so no one else had to die, wasn't that worth it? "Um…." She took a deep breath, and then nodded. "Yes. All right. If you help us catch the Heartbreaker, we'll let you have a one-on-one battle with Yuri."

"And none of you can interfere this time!"

"Right. We won't. I promise."

"Good… very good." Zagi backed up and spread his arms. "Ask me what you want to know."

Estelle looked to Raven. He nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets and then asked, "So. This murderer. Does he have a motive, or is he just a nutball like you?"

"What do you mean? I have plenty of motive."

"All you want to do is kill people for the sake of killing," Estelle said.

"That  _is_  a motive, little princess. I enjoy killing. Watching people scream makes my heart race. Nothing makes me happier than seeing blood pour out of a wound and knowing I did that." His voice rose with excitement just from talking about. "To destroy someone's body is the ultimate power. Whether they live or die is up to you and your strength." He half-closed his eyes and smiled like he was recalling a delicious cake. "Slicing people up… there's so much raw emotion. Fear and pain and anger and it's all there because of  _you_. There is no greater joy than proving that you are the strongest."

"Ok…" Estelle tried to pretend she understood where Zagi was coming from. "So, you're motivated by the joy of killing. Is that what this guy does?"

"He seems to like it. He ripped his victims open. He wanted to see their fear and pain."

"That's wrong," Raven said. "We looked closer and it turns out he killed 'em before cuttin' them open. He slashed their throats before hurtin' 'em further."

Zagi raised an eyebrow and gaped at him. "Why… why would he do that? Why would he waste such a perfect opportunity for pain?"

"So it's definitely not the same as you, then?" Estelle said.

Zagi shook his head and flippantly waved his hand. "I see no point in cutting someone up if they're not going to feel it. He's not doing this because he likes it. He has a higher goal."

"Do you have any idea what that might be?" Estelle asked.

"I need more information."

Estelle considered this, and then pulled Raven back and whispered, "Do we tell him everything we know about the case?"

"It can't hurt. He's not gonna tell anyone from jail and it could help us a lot."

"Hm… ok." Flynn wasn't going to like this, but she filled Zagi in on all the case details she could remember. Zagi listened without interrupting, although it freaked Estelle out at the way he smiled and got starry-eyed at the descriptions of the murders. When she'd finished, she said, "That's all we know. What do you make of it?"

Zagi paced back and forth for almost a minute before saying, "He wants you to catch him."

"He  _wants_  to be caught?"

"Yes. Not by you personally." He stopped and faced her. "He wants it to be Flynn. It's all about Flynn."

"Why Flynn?" Raven asked.

Zagi shrugged. "Can't tell from this."

"Why would he want to get caught?" Estelle asked.

Zagi shook his head. "Can't tell."

"But why is he killing people?" This was the most important part, Estelle thought.

"People kill for lots of reasons. I do it because I love it. More boring people do it for money or power. Some people find it sexual. This guy… he wants to accomplish something." He leaned against the bars again with a creepy smile. "I like to know every person I kill personally. To me, killing should be savoured and every victim is special. This person has no connection to his victims. They're game pieces in a grander scheme. He doesn't care about them - they're just bodies to be used to play his game with Flynn. Stop focusing on the killing. The only thing that matters is the end goal."

Raven rubbed his chin. "I don't suppose you know what that might be?"

Zagi shrugged. "How should I know? Now, I've told you everything I know. When do I get to fight Yuri?"

"Not yet," Estelle said.

He slammed against the bars. "You promised!"

"We haven't caught him yet," Estelle said.

Raven added, "We said you'd get to fight him if you helped us catch this guy. You don't get to fight Yuri 'til this nutball's behind bars."

Zagi snarled in frustration and whirled around. "Fine! Catch him quick. I'm losing patience."

Estelle and Raven glanced at each other, and then left. They weren't going to get anything else out of Zagi today.

* * *

It was nine o'clock and Trout was just arriving. Angie Klapp lived in a small neighbourhood in the public quarter, but there were enough bushes and hedges for Flynn and the knights to hide behind. Flynn crouched across from her door with Leblanc, ready to strike. He watched Trout knock, then Angie answer the door, and then they glanced around and hurried inside.

"Should we go in now, sir?" Leblanc asked.

Flynn shook his head. "No. Give them time to get into whatever it is they're doing. We need to let them get into the incriminating actions before confronting them."

There was no innocent reason to be using ether. Perhaps they were planning to process it to work better to incapacitate victims. Pieces fell into place. Trout, angry with the knights for discharging him, had motive to taunt Flynn and make his life miserable. Angie was making lots of money reporting on sensational murders, which was reason enough for the especially gruesome eviscerations, because simple kills didn't capture the public imagination the way mutilated bodies and cryptic messages did. Then the pair had shown up at Tabitha's crime scene only shortly after Flynn did and claimed they happened to be in the area, but what if they'd known in advance where Abigail was going to be found? Trout constantly claimed he'd be able to take over the case. Of course he would; he probably had a scapegoat planned and evidence to plant. He could commit a slew of murders, watch Flynn flail, and then swoop in to save the day and get back at the Knights for discharging him, while making big bucks for his girlfriend in the process.

They let fifteen minutes pass, which had to be enough time. Whatever they were getting up to, they probably had started by now, so he looked to Leblanc. "Go. Kick down the door to get in. We can't give them time to cover it up by knocking."

"Yes, sir."

Flynn remained behind the bush while Leblanc led his men to the door. With a solid kick, he smashed open the door and six knights charged into the house. Flynn waited impatiently, allowing himself to hope they could put an end to this matter tonight. He heard shouts from the house, and then doors opened from the neighbours to see what was going on. Before chaos could erupt, Flynn strode onto the street.

"What's going on?" a man asked, poking his head out and looking to Angie's house with fear.

"Imperial Knight business," Flynn said as he approached Angie's house. "Return to your homes. There is nothing to worry about."

Shouts from Angie's house got louder, and then he heard her voice scream, "Where is he!?"

Flynn hesitated; that didn't sound good. She sounded furious, and not the kind of fury that comes with being exposed as a serial killer. Moments later, Angie stormed out of the house without a jacket and marched right up to Flynn.

"How  _dare_  you!?" She jabbed her finger into Flynn's chest. "You think you can just barge in to my home for no reason?!"

Leblanc ran after her, accompanied by a few knights. Moments later, Trout stumbled to the door with a goofy grin.

"Ang… come back inshide," he slurred.

"Leblanc!" Flynn held up his hands to keep Angie from actually assaulting him, which her furious expression hinted might happen. "What is the situation?"

"We went inside as per our orders and found them using the ether in the kitchen. Ma'am, please step away from the commandant." He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her away.

"We weren't doing anything illegal!" she shouted.

From the doorway, Trout giggled and fell on Adecor. "I say! Hold yourself together!"

Leblanc gave Flynn an awkward look. "We found them, er, partaking in ether inhalation as a recreational activity."

Flynn looked to Trout, who struggled to stay upright and still had that stupid grin on his face. "Ah." Taking ether as a drug wasn't exactly innocent… but it wasn't actually illegal, either. It looked like he'd made a rather embarrassing mistake. "I apologize, Ms. Klapp. We had reason to believe you might be involved with the murders."

"That is completely preposterous! On what evidence? That I purchased ether? There's nothing illegal about that." She looked over her shoulder and her voice softened. "Jasper, dear, go lie down before you hurt yourself." Her head snapped back to Flynn. "I hope you enjoyed this little raid. You've completely ruined my evening,  _and_ ," she glanced to the neighbours and her cheeks turned even redder than they were from the cold. In a lower voice she hissed, "I had been hoping to keep my enjoyment of ether a secret, but you've gone and ruined that. You like seeing my reputation ruined? Let's see how you like it."

Flynn kept his face steady. "Are you threatening me?"

Angie smiled sweetly. "Nobody is totally innocent, Commandant. Everyone's got a dark little secret that would destroy them if it got out. I may not know yours yet, but I won't rest until that little secret is on the front page of every newspaper in Zaphias."

A shudder ran down his spin and images of Yuri flashed through his head. He couldn't let Angie see he was worried about her threat, though. With a carefully level voice, he said, "I apologize for this misunderstanding tonight. The Imperial Knights will reimburse you for the damages to your door."

Angie pulled away from Leblanc and stomped back up to her house. "Get out!" she bellowed at Adecor and Boccos. They scurried out, and she slammed the cracked door.

"It's all right, sir," Leblanc said gently as the neighbours started going back inside. "It was an honest mistake."

"One that I'm positive will be all over the papers tomorrow. Let's get out of here before we cause more of a scene." Flynn led the group of knights back toward the castle. That lead had been a bust, just like his trip to see Carter. At least he hadn't made a fool of himself on that interview, though.

Back at the castle, he wrote up a quick report on the failed mission. He went to his office and considered picking up a file he had been planning to work on at home tonight, but then he glanced outside at the cold snowy night and decided he wasn't going to get anything accomplished tonight. After checking that Leblanc had everything he needed to sign off on report on the failed raid, he headed home.

Snow drifted in the air in tiny flecks, building an inch-thick layer on the ground. He once against regretted leaving his scarf at home, but he'd give himself a break considering he'd had a rather startling morning. Down the steps and into the public quarter, he turned a corner and appreciated the quiet. Winter was a pain, but he did like the quiet.

He walked down a street near his house lined in shops. Warm light shone through the windows, but most of them were almost ready to close for the night. There was only one other person still on the street, so he couldn't imagine they would be getting more customers. The other person was an older man with a fuzzy winter hat pulled low over his face. He walked with a cane and was so hunched over Flynn couldn't make out any details of his face.

The man passed a shop just ahead of Flynn. Earlier in the evening, the shopkeeper had washed the street in front of his shop and left a thin coating of water. When the sun went down, the temperature dropped and froze the section of road into slippery ice. The man's cane slipped to the side and he wobbled, crashing to the ground with a cry.

Flynn ran forward in an instant. "Sir! Sir, are you all right?"

The man groaned and clutched his knee with one hand while using the other to smother a few coughs. Flynn hit the ice and slid a foot forward before catching his balance. After stabilizing himself, he reached out a hand. "Here, sir, let me help you up."

"Th-thank you, son," he said in a hoarse voice and reached for Flynn's wrist. Flynn had less than a second to think that the hand looked very young and not at all like it belonged to someone elderly, and then the man yanked him forward.

Flynn's knees hit the street, and a second later the man's cane flew around and smashed into the side of his head. He fell forward onto his hands, the ice freezing his bare fingers while his head spun. "W…what…?"

The butt of the cane slammed between his shoulder blades, pushing him to his chest. He was still dizzy and disoriented from the blow to his head, and then a knee dug into his back, a hand wrapped around his forehead and pulled his head back, and a sweet-smelling rag pressed over his face.

He immediately stopped breathing and jerked his head to the side. He reached around with his arms to fight his attacker off, but from his position flat on the ground he didn't have enough leverage. Flynn twisted and bucked, but gravity was working against him. His attacker gripped his head firmly, and after all his flailing, Flynn's chest felt ready to explode if he didn't breathe.

An involuntary gasp sucked in a sweet odour that immediately made his head spin even more than before. The more he kicked and struggled the more he had to breathe, until trying to hold his breath was impossible. He sucked in deep gasps of the drug while trying to pull his face away. Remembering that Gill had said their serial killer likely drugged his victims with ether before dragging them off to be gutted only freaked him out more.

He could feel himself growing woozy and in desperation he shouted,  _"Helmf_!" The fingers pressed even tighter over his mouth and after using up that air he had to take another deep breath through his nose. The dizziness overpowered him, and he slumped into blackness.


	7. Counting Down

Around mid-morning, someone rapped on Yuri's door. He hopped down from the window sill as Repede looked up the foot of his bed. Yuri opened the door to find Estelle and Sodia, both looking concerned. "What's up?"

"Yuri, have you seen Flynn today?" Estelle asked.

Yuri frowned. "No… is something wrong?"

"The commandant didn't show up to work this morning." Sodia tried and failed to mask how worried she was. "It's very unlike him to miss work."

"Have you checked his house?"

"I knocked, but nobody answered."

Yuri leaned against his doorway. "That's weird." Flynn wouldn't skip work without a very good reason. "Maybe he's sick and didn't hear you knocking."

"I thought about that," Estelle said. "If he is, we need to get into his house to see him, but we don't have a key. Did he give you a spare key by chance?"

Flynn didn't, but that didn't mean Yuri couldn't still get in. "Yeah, I can get in. Repede, let's go."

Yuri wasn't too worried on the way to Flynn's house. Flynn had probably come down with something after all the stress he'd been under, and he fully expected to find him asleep in bed. Even if that wasn't the case, he had probably gone out to run an errand this morning that took him a lot longer than he'd expected. Last night, the snow had picked up around midnight and covered the ground in about a foot of snow. Yuri hoped it stuck around this time since he enjoyed the satisfying crunch under his feet.

When they arrived at his house, Sodia asked, "Does he have a key hidden around here?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then how do you plan to get in?"

"Give me a minute." He walked away and into the narrow gap between Flynn's house and the house next door. There was only a few feet between the houses, which was enough room to leap up, grab a pipe and then kick against the rough stone walls. With one foot on Flynn's wall and the other on his neighbour's, Yuri slowly made his way up.

"What are you doing?!" Sodia snapped.

"I'm sure he's left a window unlocked up here."

Sodia gaped at him. "You can't break into the commandant's house!"

"That sounds like a challenge."

"Yuri be careful." Estelle looked up at him with pleading eyes. "If you fall from up there, you could be really hurt."

His calves shook from exertion as he inched his way up. He glanced at Sodia and called down, "Don't worry about it. I've had worse falls."

Sodia shamefully glanced away, but Estelle was too focused on Yuri to notice.

He reached the second storey and inched along to the window to the study. The ground was about fifteen feet below, but so far his muscles held out. The tricky part came when he reached the window and had to use one hand to pull it open, and he had to trust in his legs to maintain balance. With a grunt, the window slid open. Thick curtains covered it, because it was rather useless so close to the neighbour's wall. He took a deep breath, and then pushed off from the neighbour's wall. There was a split second where his stomach flipped and he thought he was going to fall, but then momentum carried him through and he crashed through the curtains and tumbled to the floor.

Yuri jumped to his feet and dusted himself off. "It's just me, Flynn!" There was no answer. Yuri slid the window shut, and then ventured into the hall. He took a right turn and poked his head into the master bedroom. "Flynn?" The bed was neatly made and there was no sign of its occupant. "Huh. Guess he's out."

Yuri made his way downstairs, not really caring that he left snowy footprints in the carpet all the way down. He unlocked the front door and pulled it open. "He's not here."

"Are you sure?" Estelle wiped her feet on the mat just inside and looked around in concern.

"He'd have to be purposefully hiding from us. I didn't see the cat, either."

Sodia closed the door behind her, giving Yuri a dirty look. Yuri got the feeling his housebreaking skills failed to impress her.

"Oh, there she is!" Kat emerged from the dining room and ran toward Estelle. Purring loudly, she wound herself around Estelle's legs and rubbed her face against her calf.

Estelle giggled a crouched to pet her while Yuri scoffed, "Sure, she likes  _you_."

"You have to treat her properly." Kat jumped up on Estelle's knee and meowed, and when Estelle straightened up again, she darted down the hall to the kitchen at the back of the house. "What's wrong, Kat?"

Estelle hurried after her. Yuri wasn't too concerned with Kat, but this might give them a clue as to Flynn's whereabouts, so he followed. In the kitchen, Kat stood meaningfully by her food dish and stared at Estelle with wide eyes while purring insistently.

"What's wrong? Are you hungry? Yuri, do you know where Flynn keeps her food?"

Yuri shrugged. "Probably in the cupboard."

Estelle picked up the bowl and went to the cupboard while Sodia said, "The commandant would never forget to feed his cat. He must not have been here this morning."

"Yeah. He loves that stupid thing."

Estelle pouted over her shoulder. "You should be nicer to Kat, Yuri. She's really sweet if you give her a chance."

"She started it."

"Yuri, she's a cat. Be the bigger man here."

Yuri scowled at the cat, but she was too busy digging in when Estelle put the food bowl down to notice. "There weren't any footsteps leading away from Flynn's house outside. That means he must have left before midnight."

Estelle leaned against a chair. "What could he have gone out for?"

"Commandant Flynn had no reason to go out. He was very tired when he left and told me he planned on going straight to bed."

Worry crept over Estelle's face. "Do you think he didn't leave willingly?"

"There's no sign of break-in or violence," Yuri said. "Well, there is sign of break-in because I just did it, but there was nothing before I got here. Given how starving that cat is, I think it's possible he never made it home last night at all."

"Oh, no." Estelle clutched her hands together while Sodia's face went taut with concern. "Where could he be?"

Yuri had to admit he was beginning to worry. Flynn dropping out of contact for less than twenty-four hours wouldn't usually be cause for alarm, but there was a serial killer in town who had a personal obsession with him. This might be very bad. "I don't know."

"I'll alert all knights in the city to begin a search. Finding the commandant will be our top priority."

* * *

Flynn awoke with a throbbing headache and an urge to throw up. The next thing he noticed was deep pain in his shoulders, elbows, and wrists, though his fingers felt numb. As he came to his senses, he realized ropes dug into his wrists and suspended him from the ceiling. His legs were bent beneath him and scraped the floor, so he pulled them forward and stiffly pushed himself upright. He couldn't quite stand flat, so his calves felt the pressure of being forced onto his toes. At least the pain in his wrists and shoulders lessened, but tingling needles shot through his arms as circulation returned. He shivered and goosebumps sprung up across his bare chest. Wherever he was, it was freezing and someone had taken his shirt.

 _Where the hell am I?_  It was pitch black. Actually, something was tied around his head. A blindfold.  _Where the_ hell _am I?_

He took a long, deep breath.  _Think, Flynn._  He remembered walking home, and then there had been an old man… but he wasn't an old man! That's right, he'd smashed Flynn's head with a cane. That was probably why his head hurt so much. With his arms pressed against the side of his head, he could feel a lump where he'd been struck.

He swayed on his feet, still feeling a lingering dizziness from… he'd been drugged. In all probability his abductor was none other than the Heartbreaker. Well… at least he'd found him. He told himself to remain calm, but that was difficult to do when he was blindfolded, tied-up, and at the mercy of a murderer who liked to cut people open.

Flynn tried to focus on something else, like figuring out where he was. First of all, it was freezing. It chilled him to the bone and he couldn't stop shivering. There wasn't any wind, though, so he had to be inside. He couldn't hear anything from the street, and there didn't seem to be any light coming through the blindfold, so he guessed he was in a basement somewhere. He didn't have much slack to move his arms around, so the ceiling the rope was attached to must be low.

He twisted his wrists to see if there was any give. His wrists were swollen and sore, and having hung from them for possibly hours, the knots were pulled taut. No luck there. It was hard to think rationally about an escape attempt when his brain still felt muddled and dizzy from the ether and it was a constant battle to keep from throwing up. There was no point using up all his energy in flailing around trying to pull free, so he took the fact that he hadn't been killed yet as a good sign and waited patiently.

Waiting patiently was hard. He tried to stay standing, but the strain on his calves was too much. He was so frustratingly close to the ground, but not quite enough that he could take pressure off the balls of his feet. When his legs inevitably gave out, he fell forward and the rope around his wrists jerked him to a stop. It was hard to appreciate relief in his legs when it was replaced by numbing pressure in his arms. His forearms burned, his elbows and shoulders aches, and his hands throbbed and swelled with trapped blood. Every time he switched positions he grew certain that  _this_  was the more painful option.

How long had he been down here? It must be the better part of the day. He still felt sick, but he was hungry, too. Was this the killer's plan? Leave him down here and let him die? At this point it seemed better than getting cut open, but he wasn't sure if he'd still feel that way after another… however many hours it had been. It felt like it had been at least twenty hours, but with nothing to see, nothing to hear, and pain dragging out every second, he was probably overestimating.

He kept picturing his knights finding his gutted body on the street. He imagined Yuri standing over the crime scene and his chest ached. Imagining how much pain this would cause Yuri was almost worse than the dread of being murdered itself. He was going to die having never told Yuri how truly important he was to him. Keeping it bottled up had seemed the logical thing to do, but now that he was pretty sure he was going to die, he wished he'd had just one chance to hold Yuri in his arms and damn the consequences.

Footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Flynn tensed, every sense on alert as he listened to the steps slowly approach. They were accompanied by a sliding sound, like something being a dragged. Earlier he'd longed for his abductor to come back just to break the monotony of hanging here, but now that the time had come, he was nervous. He pulled himself up on his aching legs and took a deep breath. He had to remain strong. Hopefully the person got here soon, because Flynn wasn't sure how long he could hold himself up.

He didn't have to wait long. Hinges creaked and a metallic door clanked against a cement wall. The footsteps came closer, still dragging the heavy object. Flynn hated to think it, but by the sound of the weight and shape, he had to guess it was a body.

"Good evening," said a male voice.

Evening. He'd been abducted in the evening and he was certain more than just a couple of hours had passed. He must have been down here for an entire day - no wonder he was so tired and hungry. This did make him worry about the others, because if he'd been missing for an entire day, they must be worried about him. His heart ached when he thought of how distraught Estelle must be, but then it also ached when he thought about how he was now face-to-blindfolded-face with a serial killer and his hands were bound. "Am I to assume you are my abductor?"

Footsteps approached, leaving the body - assuming that's what it was - behind. He coughed a few times and then said, "In the flesh. What an honour it is to meet the great Flynn Scifo in person." His breath smelled heavily of tobacco and made Flynn's nose wrinkle.

Flynn pulled at his wrists and wished for the hundredth time he could see. If someone was threatening him, he preferred to look them in the eye. "If you wanted to meet with me, I'm usually open for appointments between noon and four."

A fist hit his jaw without warning. His head would have snapped to the side, but with his arms pulled up, his bicep cushioned it.

Flynn ran his tongue over the gouge in his cheek where it had dug into his teeth. "Is this how you treated all your victims? Did you do this to Tabitha Zimmerman, too?"

Another fist, this time to his stomach. His knees buckled and he fell forward, jerked to a stop by his wrists. He took fast, cold breaths through his teeth to quell the urge to vomit. When he got himself upright and thought it was safe to talk without throwing up, he panted, "Why… did you… kill them?"

"Got your attention, didn't it? Like the glorious commandant has time to pay attention to any old murder scene."

Flynn felt sick, and this time it was unrelated to the nausea he was still fighting off. "That's what this is about? Getting my attention?"

He let out an ugly cough. "Doesn't that just make you  _mad_?"

Blow after blow rained down on his torso. Flynn gritted his teeth and chomped on his lip to hold in any sort of cry. He lost count of how many times the man punched him, but knew that by the next morning his body was going to be black and blue. Assuming, of course, that he was still alive tomorrow morning. He took small comfort in the fact that none of the other victims showed signs of assault, so maybe he didn't plan on treating him the same as all his other victims. Of course, maybe that meant that unlike the others, the murderer planned to keep him alive while cutting him open.

It finally ended with a solid uppercut to his jaw. Flynn hung from his wrists and panted for breath, hoping this was the last of it. His whole body ached, and his arms burned because he had strength to hold himself up. "So… that's your… plan? Beat me up?"

"You're pathetic. You haven't even gotten close to figuring out who I am yet. What have you been doing for three weeks? Sitting on your ass?"

Flynn stumbled a few times before managing to get to his feet and take the pressure off his arms. "If you want to tell me your name I would be pleased to hear it."

"Oh, no, that would be too easy. I think it would be much more fun to watch you struggle. The whole city's watching, Flynn. Why haven't you caught this guy yet, huh?"

A soft moan from a few feet in front of him distracted Flynn from replying. The body! They weren't dead yet! He might still have a chance to save them.

"Oh, our other guest is waking up." There was a soft thud and then he said, "Wake up, dear. Oversleeping is rude."

The moaning grew louder as the she came to consciousness, until it turned to a fully-awake muffled cry. "Mmph? Mm! Mmmm!"

"Let her go," Flynn demanded, his heart accelerating. Being trapped down here alone was bad enough, but he could not abide letting an innocent civilian get hurt. "Ma'am, this is Commandant Flynn Scifo. I'm going to get you out of -  _ugh_." Another punch knocked him off his feet again.

"It is indeed Flynn Scifo, but I'm afraid he's not going to do much good for you."

The woman started sobbing through her gag, and from the sounds of rustling she was trying to thrash around on the floor. She must be bound as well. He wondered if she was blindfolded like he was.

"All right, Flynn," the killer stood close in front of him. "Since you're doing such a shitty job on this case, I've decided to give you an important clue. See this? Well, no, of course you don't." He slashed his hand and a knife grazed diagonally across Flynn's chest. He gasped in surprise, but it wasn't very deep. "This is a knife and as you can feel, it's very sharp."

Blood trickled down his chest but with the cold and panic he barely felt the pain. "Let her go," he demanded as firmly as he could.

"Um… no. I'm going to kill her."

" _Mmmm_!"

"No!" Flynn yanked at his restraints. "Release her. Take me instead."

"My, aren't you a dashing knight." The knife slashed across his face, cutting a horizontal line under his eye. "I  _despise_  that attitude of yours, you know?"

"Please, don't kill her.  _Please_. You can do whatever you want to me, just let her go. She has nothing to do with this."

"See, this is what I mean!" Another shallow slash on his chest. "You don't even know her! Where do you get off acting like you're some noble super human who will save every person in the empire?"

His pounding heart probably wasn't doing anything good for the blood seeping out of his chest and dripping down his face. "I'm only trying to do the right thing. You can, too. Just put down the knife and we can talk about this."

"Shut up!" He thrust the knife through the narrow gap between Flynn's cheek and arm, cutting open the top of his shoulder. "Listen up, Flynn. This is important. You need to count how many times I stab her."

" _What_?"

The woman on the ground screamed again.

"I will do no such thing!"

"You'd better if you ever want her pain to stop." He heard the swish of a knife and a dull thunk, and the woman's screams grew louder. "That was one. You were supposed to count."

"No! Let her go! Please, stop this!"

"I'm going to start over again. That one doesn't count because you didn't say it."

"You're insane!" Blood trickled down his wrists. He'd thrashed in the binds enough to tear skin.

"That doesn't sound like counting. Let's start again." Another thunk, and another scream.

Tears welled up in Flynn's eyes. He could handle the bloody gashes on his own body, but listening to an innocent suffer was unbearable. "Stop! Please, I'm begging you, let her go!"

"Beg all you want; I want to hear you count. It is important, after all. Here I go again."

Flynn heard the squelch of a knife sinking into soft flesh and, not knowing what else to do, gasped, "Three!"

"No, I  _told_  you, the first two didn't count! And you got it wrong this time, so it doesn't count either."

The woman cried and moaned on the ground and Flynn gasped for breath. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

"Here we go again."

 _Swish. Thunk_.

"One!" he gasped, hating himself for saying it. He heard the knife again and blurted, "Two!"

"Good, now you're getting it."

With every strike of the knife, the woman screamed, but she was almost drowned out by the blood rushing in Flynn's ears. "Th-three!" Tears soaked into the blindfold. This would be less painful if he was the one getting hurt. "Four! Why are you doing this?!"

He received no answer except for another stab. "Five… six…" The woman never stopped screaming. Flynn knew in his heart she wasn't going to survive this, and logically there was nothing he could have done to save her, but he still felt like such a failure. He was the commandant, sworn to protect people and make them smile, and all he could do was stand here uselessly while one of his people was horribly murdered right in front of him. He didn't even know her name.

"Keep it up, Flynn."

"Seven," he forced out. "Eight. Nine. Ten." How much longer could this go on? Surely the poor woman would die of blood loss soon. He must be stabbing her in non-vital areas just to draw it out. For the first time, Flynn found himself wishing an innocent would die, because he couldn't save her and he couldn't bear to listen to her suffer any longer. "Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen." He couldn't manage to put any energy into it. It was useless to beg and he just wanted this to stop. "Fourteen. Fifteen."

"And here we go! Last one, Flynn! Make it count!"

The knife swept down, but this time the woman's scream cut off with a gurgle. Blood sprayed against Flynn's torso and he couldn't hold back a scream while the woman's voice choked out. "S-Sixteen!" he screamed, desperately believing that this had to be the last. He could clearly picture a knife in her throat, with eighteen other wounds across her body oozing blood. The soft gasps didn't last long, and at last she was allowed to die.

"Why?" Flynn croaked. He hung from his wrists, having lost the energy to stay on his toes. His whole body shook with rage and pain. "Why did you do that?"

"I told you, Flynn. It's important. You'd better remember that."

"You're a monster," he hissed.

"Maybe." He tucked the tip of his knife under Flynn's chin and raised his head, the woman's blood smearing on his throat. "You think you're so much better than me. You're not, you know. You think I'm a monster? Admit it. There's a part of you that wants to ram a knife into me nineteen times so that I know what that girl felt."

Flynn tensed. He couldn't fully deny it. He would never do such a thing, but a visceral beast inside him screamed about her blood dripping down his torso, and roared with delight at the prospect of making this bastard pay for what he'd done.

"I thought so. Maybe part of you is a monster, too."

"I'm nothing like you," Flynn snarled.

"Perhaps. You really seem to think so, at least." The knife pulled away.

He walked away, and Flynn told himself that being told to remember this in the future probably meant he wasn't going to be killed just now. Less than a minute later, the killer returned and shoved another rag in Flynn's face. He tried to yank his head away, but the man clutched the back of his head with his other hand. With his arms restrained and all energy gone, he didn't have the strength to fight it. The dizziness intensified and he dropped out of consciousness.

* * *

Yuri didn't know why he was at Estelle's place other than that he was worried and didn't know what else to do with himself. Estelle let him in, but without her usual exuberant smile.

"No word, huh?" She'd promised to come running the moment the knights reported Flynn's whereabouts. It was evening now and she hadn't come yet. Yuri didn't think she'd forgotten about him, but he couldn't stand sitting around playing card games with Judy, Karol, and Raven and doing nothing.

Estelle slowly shook her head. "No." Before Yuri could sit down, she embraced him. "I'm so worried, Yuri."

"Yeah." He squeezed her with one arm. "I wouldn't ordinarily be so worked up about him, but given the circumstances…" They didn't have to say it, but both of them were terrified that tomorrow morning someone would find Flynn on the street with his chest ripped open.

Estelle pulled back and sat on the couch. Yuri sat next to her, and they were silent for a few moments. She leaned against his shoulder and said, "We'll find him. I know we will."

Yuri nodded more confidently than he felt. "Sure we will. Flynn's been through worse stuff. We're probably worrying over nothing."

"Some people on the Council think he ran away."

Yuri stiffened with anger and a glare settled onto his face, directed at no one in particular. "They what?"

"I heard some of them saying he's embarrassed by the mix-up with Zagi and ran away to keep from having to face everyone."

"That's ridiculous."

"I know. I'm so angry with them, but there's no point starting a fight."

Kat poked her head around the corner, and Yuri finally had someone to land his glare on. She scowled at him - if cats could scowl - and then disappeared. "What's she doing here?"

"Oh." She leaned forward to try to see Kat around the corner. "I didn't want her to be all alone. And… I worried Flynn wouldn't be home in time to give her dinner."

Yuri glanced to the dim grey sky through the window. "Well, you were right there." He sighed and leaned back. "All the other victims were taken in the night and showed up the next morning. It's been a whole day and Flynn hasn't shown up yet, so this can't be like the other victims."

"I really hope so. Oh, Yuri, I should probably tell you something. We've been so caught up today with Flynn that I didn't think of it, but Raven and I went to visit Zagi yesterday."

Yuri turned his head, more confused than surprised. "What for?"

"We thought he might be able to give us insight into the mind of the Heartbreaker."

"Did he?"

"He told us that the person we're after isn't like him. He's not doing this for fun or pleasure. He has a higher goal he's working toward and somehow that revolves around getting Flynn to catch him. Zagi says he wants to be caught, and that all the victims so far are just pieces in his game."

"Huh. If he wants Flynn to catch him, why would he catch Flynn first?"

Estelle shrugged. "I don't know. I talked to Zagi before this all happened, so maybe his analysis would be different now."

"How did you get him to agree to help?"

"Um, actually…" she fiddled her thumbs. "We promised him he could fight you. Is that ok? It's the only thing he wants, so we told him instead of a regular execution he could have a duel to the death with you."

Yuri considered this. It wouldn't be ideal, but he was pretty sure he could do it. If it helped them catch this bastard and get Flynn back, it was worth it. "Yeah, I guess I can do that. Geeze, I'm so sick of fighting this freak."

"I know. Hopefully this will be the last time."

"Whatever. Chances are Flynn won't even let me go through with it." Assuming, of course, that Flynn was around to disapprove.


	8. The Challenge

It was cold. The more Flynn came around, the more freezing he felt. He opened his eyes and saw stars and the roofs of buildings.  _I'm outside_ , he thought distantly. This was surprising because the last time he'd been awake, he'd been… shit. Memories rushed back to him, and with them came the nausea. It couldn't be stopped this time, so he rolled onto his stomach, propped himself on his elbows, and vomited into a snowdrift. A couple walked by and muttered something vague about shameless drunkards, but he was too cold to worry about it. Why was he cold?

Probably because he was still shirtless. He pulled his arms tight around himself and shivered uncontrollably. His skin was pale and covered in goosebumps, but at least the cold had slowed down the bleeding from the various cuts. His arms ached and he didn't like the looks of the inflamed skin around his wrists. He wasn't sure how long he'd been outside, but it had definitely been longer than recommended in the freezing night without a shirt.

He glanced at the buildings and realized he was in the lower quarter, not far from Yuri's house.  _I need to get to Yuri's place._  He stood, falling against the wall at first. His legs ached, too, and standing was like trying balance on gelatin. His head spun and he pressed his pounding head against the wall. How the hell did Trout  _like_  ether? His stomach clenched and heaved but all that was left to come up was bile.

Flynn stumbled out of the alley, still shivering uncontrollably, with his chest covered in blood. Some of it was his own, but some was that poor girl's. As he thought about her, his heart throbbed. He hadn't been able to save her. That bastard needed to pay.

It was too cold for this. Maybe he should just sit down, take a nap and continue walking to Yuri's place when it was warmer. He was already halfway through bending over when sense kicked in.

 _No. You'll freeze to death overnight_.

Had to keep going. The Comet was just ahead, and light shone from Yuri's window. He was just so cold, and awful screams kept rattling around his head. His legs shook from either exhaustion or cold while he stumbled onward, but trying to think warm thoughts just reminded him of warm blood splattering against his chest. Then he remembered that his chest was covered in bruises, but he was so stiff and frozen he barely noticed.

Flynn staggered up the steps and fell against Yuri's door. He couldn't bring himself to dislodge his arms around his chest, so he kicked the door a few times instead of knocking. It felt like forever before the door finally opened and a welcome blast of warmth hit him.

"Flynn!"

He stumbled forward and fell against Yuri, drawn by his heat. "H-h-hey."

"Get inside." Yuri closed the door and pulled Flynn to his bed. "What the hell happened? Where were you?"

"L-l-l-long stor-st-story."

Yuri threw his blanket around Flynn's shoulders. "I'll grab an apple gel. Stay there."

Flynn pulled the blanket tightly around himself, teeth still chattering. He felt bad that blood from his wounds stained it, but he was too cold to care. Yuri hurried out, and Repede jumped onto the bed and pressed against him.

"Th-thanks, R-r-repede." It was finally sinking in that he really was safe now. The nightmare in that basement was over. He was  _alive_. He had more parts that hurt than didn't, and he could still hear the woman screaming in the back of his brain, but despite everything, he was alive. It had nothing to do with his own abilities, of course. The Heartbreaker could have easily killed him, but for whatever reason, decided to let him go. What possible reason could he have to do that? Didn't he want to keep Flynn prisoner to torture him some more? What the hell was he playing it? Flynn wasn't exactly complaining about being let go, but he was certainly confused.

A few minutes later, Yuri pushed the door open with his hip and then kicked it closed. He had a pile of blankets over one shoulder and a washcloth in the other.

Yuri piled the blankets around Flynn and then gently mopped up the blood on Flynn's shoulder.

"What happened? You've been gone for a whole day!"

"S-sorry to worry you. I w-w-was abducted."

"By the Heartbreaker?"

Flynn nodded, slowly beginning to warm up. He still felt bitterly cold, but was able to get control of his shivering. "He took me somewhere. A basement of some sort, I think."

"Were you conscious when he took you there?"

"He drugged me. Ether, most likely." Flynn shook his head and then flinched as Yuri's cloth rubbed the dried blood under his eye.

"Sorry. Your whole cheek is covered in blood."

"It's not that bad. It just bled a lot."

By the time Yuri was done, the cloth was more red than white. He tossed it aside and then handed Flynn an apple gel. After eating it, the cuts closed and his bruises faded from prominence. "Thanks."

Yuri held the back of his hand against Flynn's cheek and said, "You're still freezing. Lie down; I need to warm you up."

Flynn scooted over and Yuri kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed. He pushed Flynn down, lay next to him, and pulled at least four blankets over them. Repede curled up on Flynn's other side while Yuri pulled him close against his chest. Cocooned under the blankets, Flynn finally started feeling warm. He pressed his back against Yuri's chest and felt Yuri's heat melt the terrifying memories clinging to his mind. He didn't know why, but the Heartbreaker had let him go. He hadn't been murdered. He was safe and warm and curled up in Yuri's arms, and he couldn't think of anywhere he'd rather be.

"Yuri…" he whispered, "I need to tell you what happened." If he didn't speak now he worried the details would blur and he'd never get it out. It was important, though. At least, the killer had said it was important, and that was good clue on its own.

"Ok."

His breath tickled Flynn's hear and heat tingled down his spine. How did he  _ever_  convince himself he felt nothing but friendship for Yuri? He felt guilty for enjoying this position so much, though. Yuri didn't know he felt this way, and he knew Yuri was only doing this to warm him up. Was it dishonest to take advantage of this intimacy? At the moment, he didn't care. He was too cold to pull away.

"I was walking home last night when I saw an old man. He slipped on the ice, and I ran to help him. It turned out he wasn't old at all, but young and strong and faking frailty. He took me by surprise, overpowered me, and pressed a rag soaked in ether against my face."

Yuri's arms tightened in anger. "Do you remember what he looked like?"

Flynn shook his head. "It was dark and I didn't get a good look at his face. I'd guess male, mid-twenties to early-thirties, white skin…" he frowned. "That's all I've got. I would recognize his voice if I heard it, though."

"That's something I guess."

"I woke up somewhere cold and dark. I think it was the basement of a house. I was blindfolded, so I can't say much, and my hands were tied over my head." He pulled his wrists closer to his chest. The apple gel had closed the wounds, but the skin was still sore. "I waited for a while until he came back, dragging a still-living body."

"Another victim?" Yuri's voice grew dark.

Flynn nodded, though he didn't know if Yuri could see in the darkness. "A woman. I don't know who she was. The killer talked to me for a bit and punched me a few times."

Yuri snorted and tightened his grip around Flynn's chest. "More than a few. Shit, Flynn, I saw those bruises."

"Heh. Yeah, more than a few, I guess. Anyway, after the woman woke up, he… he stabbed her. Nineteen times."

"What the hell," Yuri said flatly. "That's just overdoing it."

Flynn's voice caught in his throat. This was the worst part. Flynn had experienced horror and pain before, but he'd never felt awful as when he stood there counting the stabbings. He couldn't think of anything else he could have done, but he felt complicit in the woman's murder.

"Flynn? What happened?" Yuri could sense Flynn was especially agitated at this part. "You need to tell me. It might be important for catching this bastard."

Flynn nodded and took a deep breath. "He made me count."

"Count?"

"Every time he stabbed her, he made me count how many times it had been. He said it was important."

Yuri was silent for a long time and breathed out slowly. "So. Nineteen times."

"Sixteen. The first three didn't count. I - I counted wrong, or not at all, so he had to start over."

"All right, sixteen. What's the significance of sixteen?"

"I don't know. He made sure I remembered it, though."

"That's… fucked up."

Flynn nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"How did you escape?"

"I didn't. He just… let me go."

"What?"

"He knocked me out again and then I woke up in an alley not far from here."

"What the hell is this guy's problem?" Yuri squeezed Flynn tightly. "He killed all those people to send you a message, then he kidnaps you just to screw with your head. Estelle says he  _wants_  you to catch him."

"He did imply that he's upset we haven't identified him yet. I really don't know what to make of this."

"Shit, Flynn. Are you all right?"

He certainly felt better now. The pain felt distant and he seemed to have thawed out. He wouldn't be able to forget the woman's screams for a long time, but all things considered, he was doing all right. "Yeah. Thanks."

"You feel warm, at least." Yuri released Flynn from his grasp and pulled away. "You can sleep here. I'll crash in Raven and Karol's room if you want, to give you some space."

He was about to get up, but Flynn rolled over and grabbed his arm. Before he could stop himself, he blurted, "No. You can stay."

They met each other's eyes. Yuri's were questioning and uncertain, while Flynn wondered if the deep affection he held for Yuri was as clear in his eyes as it was in his heart. He almost shivered again, and this time it had nothing to do with the cold. Did Yuri know? He had to. Flynn was a shitty liar and there was no way feelings this deep could be hidden. He slowly released his grip on Yuri's arm and mumbled, "I… it's warmer with you here."

Yuri lowered himself back into bed. "Sure. If you want."

He pulled Flynn close, and Flynn buried his face against Yuri's chest, curled under Yuri's chin. With the blankets all around and Yuri so close, the lingering screams in his head faded away.

Yuri wrapped one warm arm around him and spoke so softly that Flynn almost didn't hear it. "I think it's warmer with you, too."

It wasn't the poetic declaration with music swelling in the background that Flynn had toyed with in his most childish daydreams. But, in the warm darkness with the silent and frozen city outside, it was enough. Flynn pressed closer so Yuri's heat expelled the last of his cold. Yeah… it was enough.

* * *

The door banged. "Yuri! Yuri, are you up?!"

Yuri opened his eyes, momentarily confused by the blond hair tickling his nose and the heartbeat so close to his chest. Oh, right, Flynn. Yuri smiled, once again hit by the overwhelming relief that he was all right. The past twenty-four hours had been pretty scary, though he pushed those thoughts aside because it had obviously been even scarier for Flynn.

"Yuri!" That was Estelle at the door.

"I'm up! Give me a second." He needed to dislodge himself from Flynn, but Flynn was crushing his arm. His arm had actually gone numb from Flynn sleeping on it all night. Carefully, trying not to wake Flynn, he tugged his arm out from under him and massaged his palm to try to get the feeling back. He kicked the blankets off, too, because with four blankets covering him, he was roasting.

Estelle lost patience, and the door banged open. "Yuri, I - Flynn!"

At her shout, Flynn stirred. He seemed to forget where he was for a moment, and then a blush graced his cheeks as Estelle flew at him.

"You're all right! Oh, Flynn, I was worried sick about you!" She bent over the bed and embraced him. Yuri laughed as Flynn's arms flailed around while he sought to breathe. When she finally let him go, she shot Yuri an angry look. "Why didn't you tell me he was safe?"

"Sorry. He showed up late last night and there wasn't time to tell you."

"I guess that's ok." Now that her excitement at finding Flynn safe had died down, she was ready to be excited about something else. "But… you guys! I'm so happy for you!"

Yuri instantly realized that Estelle thought finding them in bed together meant they were  _together_. But… were they? He thought Flynn had confessed feelings last night, but maybe he'd misinterpreted. They really needed to talk this over, but couldn't do so with Estelle here. What if Flynn had only been speaking entirely literal when he'd said it was warmer with Yuri? But then… there had been that moment right before they went to sleep. He remembered the look in Flynn's eyes when Flynn had asked him to stay. There had been something so much more in them, or was that just wishful thinking? After being through such a traumatizing day, did Flynn even know what he'd been feeling last night?

He made a hurried hand gesture behind Flynn's head to tell Estelle to abort the conversation, while Flynn asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean you finally told each other…" she saw Yuri's frantic gestures and stopped short. She glanced back to Flynn and giggled nervously. "Oops, my mistake."

Yuri quickly pushed the topic on. "What did you need to tell me, Estelle? Or did you just come running down here for my charming company?"

"Oh, right! A noble has been kidnapped."

Flynn rubbed his tired eyes. "And it's suspected to be the work of the Heartbreaker?"

Estelle nodded. "There's no proof at this point, but given everything else that's been happening, it's a fair guess."

"Who's the victim?" Flynn asked.

"Lord Carter."

Flynn paused. "Him?"

She nodded. "Yes. I talked to Sodia, and she said his maid reported him missing when she got in to work."

Flynn gave Yuri a confused look. "I interviewed him the other day."

"We should go to his house," Estelle said. "Maybe there are clues there."

Flynn nodded and got up. He paused, winced and continued slowly and stiffly. The apple gel last night hadn't been enough to get rid of all his bruises.

"Oh, Flynn, let me heal that for you!" Estelle grabbed his shoulders before he could say anything else.

Flynn blushed and glanced nervously down at the fact he was still shirtless. "Er, Lady Estellise, you don't have to-"

"First Aid."

Yuri climbed over Flynn and pulled a sweater off the back of his chair. "Here, put this on."

Flynn caught it and pulled it over his head. It was the same sweater covered in kittens that he'd lent Yuri, but he didn't mention it. "Let's go to Carter's house. Lady Estellise, I'll fill you in on where I was on the way there."

Yuri gave Flynn a spare coat and then they grabbed a quick bite to eat at the inn. Flynn hadn't eaten in over a day, so he was famished and held them up with three servings of bacon and a small tower of toast. When they were finally on their way up the stairs and out of the lower quarter, Flynn told Estelle the same story he'd told Yuri the night before.

When he finished, Estelle clutched his arm and pulled him close. "Oh, Flynn, that's awful. I'm so glad you're ok."

"I'm more worried about the victim who died last night. I have no idea who she was or how to report her death."

Yuri's glare almost melted the snow. "I'm sure she'll show up sooner or later."

When they reached Lord Carter's house, the maid let them in. "I came in to work at eight as always," she explained. "I didn't see him in the kitchen like I usually do. I worried he might be sick, so I went up and knocked on his door. He didn't answer, so I peeked in and he wasn't there. I searched the whole house for him, but he's nowhere to be seen." She gave Flynn a worried look. "You don't think something's happened to him, do you?"

"We don't know for sure."

Somehow, Flynn managed to look professional even wearing a sweater covered in kittens. Of course, Yuri preferred Flynn's look when he wasn't wearing a shirt at all… He shoved those thoughts aside. Last night had been a fluke.

"Have you moved anything around since you got here?" Flynn asked.

"No, sir." The maid quickly shook her head. "As soon as I realized something was wrong, I didn't touch anything."

"You didn't clean anything up?" Yuri asked, looking around the hallway. "Broken glass or anything?"

"No, I didn't."

"Thank you," Flynn said. "You can leave us here. We just need to look around a bit."

"Ok. I hope you find him. Lord Carter is so kind."

She left, and Flynn looked to Yuri. Their eyes met for a few seconds and Yuri wondered if Flynn was thinking about last night, too. They really needed to talk about it, but there wasn't time with Carter to worry about.

"You're thinking it too, right?" Flynn asked.

Yuri nodded, while Estelle asked, "What are you talking about?"

"There's no sign of a break in," Yuri said. "The door doesn't seem to have been forced open."

"Let's explore the rest of the house," Flynn said. "Maybe we'll find something. I'll look around down here. Yuri, Lady Estellise, please look through the bedrooms upstairs."

"Ok, Flynn. We're on the case!" With a determined set of her jaw, Estelle marched to the stairs. When she and Yuri were in the upstairs hallway, she glanced back to make sure Flynn was out of earshot and then said, "Yuri, what happened last night after Flynn got away? Did you and he…?"

"Nothing happened." Yuri opened a door and found what was probably Carter's bedroom. It was a huge room with a canopied bed, and heavy wooden dressers with matching end tables. The bed was perfectly made, the silk sheets so smooth he could have bounced a coin off them. "At least… I don't think it did. I honestly don't know. Flynn came to my room freezing his ass off. I remembered when we were in Zopheir that Raven tried to explain to Judy that sharing body heat was the best way to warm up, so I laid with him to keep him from freezing to death. We said some things and at the time it seemed like a big breakthrough, but now I'm not so sure."

Estelle inspected the window, tracing her finger along a line of dried paint. "This window hasn't been opened in years. Anyway, there's been something between you two all morning. Yuri, you should tell Flynn how you feel outright."

"Let's go, no one broke in here. I told him… well, I don't know, I said some things last night that I think got my feelings across. If he wants to take this further than friends, let him make that decision. He's the one with the precarious career to worry about."

"Just  _talk_  to him. You talk to him, or I will."

"Don't you dare."

"I'm trying to help, Yuri."

"Estelle! Just leave this between us, ok?" She led the way into the next room.

She frowned but then said, "Ok, but promise me you'll talk to him."

"Alright, fine. After this investigation is over and the Heartbreaker is behind bars. We've got enough to worry about until then."

"Deal. I'll hold you to that, you know."

"Yeah, yeah."

They looked through the remaining rooms upstairs but found nothing out of the ordinary. Downstairs, they met up with Flynn in the sitting room. "No sign of a break-in upstairs," Yuri said.

Flynn looked around the room in distaste. "Nothing down here, either."

"Also," Estelle said, "his bed was really nicely made. It doesn't look like he slept in it."

"He might have made it before going out if he left voluntarily."

Flynn shook his head. "Carter's rather frail. He's got bad arthritis in his wrists. I doubt he'd put himself through painstakingly making his bed when he's got a maid to do it for him."

"So maybe he just went out last night," Yuri said. "There's no proof he was taken by force. In fact, it's looking like he wasn't. There's no sign of any sort of scuffle."

"I'll put some men on it, but for now it looks like this might not be related. I need to get back to the castle and let everyone know I'm all right. I'm sure Sodia and His Majesty are worried."

"Oh, yes." Estelle nodded quickly. "Everyone's been worried sick about you. I'll go back with you."

"I'm gonna let Karol and the others know you showed up. Good luck with Carter."

"All right." Before Yuri could head off, he caught Flynn's eye and paused. "Yuri… thanks. You saved my life last night."

Yuri cocked a grin. "Hey, any time."

* * *

Estelle didn't know Carter very well, but he seemed like a nice old man and it would be horrible if something happened to him. Flynn was young and strong, and as horrible as what happened to him was, he had survived it. She wasn't sure Carter could endure the same treatment. She had to hope that maybe he'd just gone out last night and stayed with a friend.

Flynn was quiet on the walk to the castle. When they entered and were going to part soon, Estelle asked, "Flynn… are you sure you're ok?"

"Hm? Ok with what?"

"I mean, I'm sure what happened to you yesterday was very scary. Are you ok?"

They stopped, Flynn's back to the wall. He smiled gently. "Thank you for your concern. I admit I'm a little… rattled, to say the least."

Estelle pulled him into a hug, pressing her face into the soft wool of his sweater. She liked hugging him a lot more when he wasn't wearing armour. "I was  _so_ scared for you yesterday. I thought… I was afraid when we found you, you'd be…"

Flynn wrapped one arm around her. "I'm all right. That's what matters now. Thanks to you, I'm not even in any pain now. I'm sorry for worrying you."

Estelle pulled back with a slight smile. "Flynn, I'm not the one who's supposed to be comforted now."

He smiled sheepishly. "Heh. Sorry. I need to - oh! Shoot, I completely forgot - I need to go home."

He started toward the door and Estelle called, "Wait, what? What's wrong?"

"I forgot about Kat! Oh, no, she's probably starving…"

"Flynn, it's ok!" She caught his arm just before he reached the door. "Kat's with me. I took her home with me because I was worried about her not eating."

"Oh!" He turned around. "Thank you very much, Lady Estellise. I really appreciate it, and I'm sure Kat does, too."

"It was no trouble. Come back to my room with me and pick her up. I'm sure she misses you." Estelle led Flynn through the hallways and toward her room, unable to shake a smile. She was worried about Carter, but even more glad that Flynn was all right. All day yesterday she'd dreaded finding Flynn's body frozen in the snow and covered in blood. She was so grateful he was here and safe.

Inside her room, she called, "Kat! Look who's here to see you!"

Her head poked out from around a corner and then she meowed and dashed forward. As Flynn closed the door, she reached his legs and circled them, rubbing her head against his shins and purring.

"Hello, Kat." He crouched and picked her up. "I missed you, too." She purred in his arms, and Flynn happily smiled at her while stroking her soft fur. "Were you worried about me, too?"

"I think she was very worried."

"More worried about where her dinner was going to come from," Flynn said with a laugh. He bent his neck and pulled her close to his face. "Isn't that right? Oh, yes, you want your dinner…"

Estelle giggled, because there were few things she found more amusing than normally-uptight Flynn cooing over his cat.

He looked up with a sheepish smile. "Thank you for taking care of her."

"It was no trouble. Flynn… can I ask you something?"

"Of course. Is something troubling you?"

"I was just wondering… how do you feel about Yuri?"

His face constricted and he started rubbing Kat a bit quicker. "I - I don't know what you mean. I care about him. He's my best friend."

"Yes, I know, but do you like him as  _more_ than just a friend? Do you have feelings for him?"

Flynn didn't have to answer. He was a terrible liar and his face had such a strong flush she'd bet on it in poker. She wanted to tell him that it was all right, that Yuri felt the same way and he could stop fretting, but she had promised Yuri she wouldn't tell.

Flynn sighed and hung his head. "I suppose you see right through me. I hope you don't think any less of me."

Estelle gasped. "Why would I do that!? Flynn, I think it's wonderful. I just want you to be happy, and Yuri makes you happy, and that's all I want from you."

He raised his head hopefully. "That's nice to hear."

She wanted to hug him she was so excited, but she didn't want to crush Kat. She made do with clutching her hands together and grinning so hugely it hurt her face. "Flynn, this is so exciting. When I saw you and Yuri this morning, I just  _knew_ something was going on between you two."

"Whoa, hold on, nothing happened between us last night. I was just cold, that's all."

Estelle rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know, but there's a… a connection between you. If you have feelings for Yuri, you need to tell him so you guys can figure out where this is going."

"You're moving too fast, Lady Estellise. I'm not sure how Yuri feels. It's probably better to just forget it."

Estelle's promise to Yuri was making this difficult, and she wished her boys didn't have to be so stubborn. "Well,  _I_  think Yuri feels the same way."

"You do?" He seemed baffled.

She nodded eagerly. "Yes. But you'll never know for sure unless you ask."

Flynn hesitated, and his eyes went to Kat again. "I'm not sure. Even if we did have these feelings, would it really be for the best to act on them? He's from the Union and I'm the leader of the Knights. Our jobs keep us separated for most of the year, and our choices in life have led us on very different paths. It was hard enough making sure we even remained friends in the past; how could we keep a romantic relationship going?"

"It's not like you to chicken out because you're nervous, Flynn."

He frowned. "I'm not chickening out. I'm trying to be logical. Heaven knows the Council would disapprove, and I've got enough trouble getting them on my side without giving them another reason to think less of me. If a relationship between us would create a roadblock in my efforts to reform the empire for the better, neither of us would think it's worth it. I can't put my own needs ahead of the rest of the empire."

"Don't you think you deserve to be happy?"

"I am happy." He smiled and rubbed his nose into Kat's neck. "I have wonderful friends and a perfect cat, and a job I thought I could only dream of. I don't need anything else to be happy, as nice as it might be."

Estelle wore a bittersweet smile as she said, "I suppose that's all right." She wished Flynn would go to Yuri because they were her two favourite people in the world and seeing them happy together was all she wanted for them. But, if this was Flynn's choice, she was glad he was so content with where he was in life. Besides, if Flynn wasn't deciding to put his own desires to the side for the good of the empire, he wouldn't really be Flynn anyway.

"Is there anything else you need?"

She shook her head. "No, there's nothing."

"All right. I'm going to speak with Sodia and let her know that I'm all right. I don't have time to take Kat home, so she's just going to hang out with me in my office today." He looked down at her and his voice softened to ask, "Would you like that? Yeah, it'ill be fun. You get to hang out with me today." He glanced back at Estelle with a sheepish smile, said, "Goodbye for now," and left.

When he was gone, Estelle fell onto her couch and let out a frustrated sigh. She just wanted Flynn and Yuri to be happy together, but the two idiots had to make things complicated.

* * *

"No, Kat, don't sit on-" she plopped onto his pile of completed paperwork. Flynn stared at her for a few seconds while she looked back, totally innocent. He sighed. "Ok. Fine. You can sit there." He picked up his pen and started writing again. It had been a difficult day at work, because Kat kept trying to attack his hand while he wrote, or napping on the paper he was filling out. This was why he usually left her at home.

It had been a busy day. Council members kept barging in to ask why he hadn't found Carter yet and demand to know where he'd been yesterday. Flynn would rather put the whole ordeal behind him and not drag up the details every time someone asked, but answering their questions directly and succinctly was the easiest way to get rid of them. He had to admit, when they demanded to know where he'd been, some childish part of him took great pleasure in watching their faces after he said, "I was kidnapped and tortured by a serial killer." What did you say to that? The Council members certainly didn't know, so they quickly found some reason to excuse themselves.

Flynn didn't have the time to get drawn into lengthy explanations with them, because he had enough trouble focusing on his work as it was. He couldn't shake his memories from yesterday, and then he felt guilty for feeling so upset, because obviously the girl had gotten worse treatment. Even still, he couldn't stop dwelling on it and replaying the scenario in his head. Eventually, he had to shake himself out of it when his heart raced and the memories of screams and his own pleas to let her go became so loud he was certain people outside his office could hear them.

He got rid of the shaking from those memories by thinking instead about what had happened last night with Yuri. He could still feel Yuri's touch on his arms, his chest pressed against his back, the way all the trauma and fear of the past hours had melted away once Yuri wrapped him under the blankets. He really ought to talk to Yuri about what exactly had happened last night. For a few moments he let himself daydream about feeling those arms around him again, and wondered what his lips would feel like. He let himself think that maybe a relationship  _could_ work out. They didn't always have to live in the same city, did they? Long distance relationships were a thing, and if he and Yuri truly loved each other, their bond could stand the test of distance, couldn't it?

But the Council… oh, damn the Council! They already disliked him. How much worse could it be?

 _A lot worse,_  he thought. He was in the process of gradually winning more and more of them over. How would that change if they found out he was in a relationship with a  _man_ , from the  _lower quarter_ , who was in the  _Union_?

Around this time he reminded himself he had work to do and forced himself to get back to it. After half an hour or so of diligent work, the cycle began anew.

In the evening, he was just considering calling it quits when Ioder arrived at his office.

"Good evening, Your Majesty." He was about to stand, but Kat was now napping on his lap, which meant he was incapable of movement. He glanced between Kat and Ioder, and said, "Er, I'm sorry, I have a cat on my lap."

Ioder laughed. "It's quite all right." He sat down, a folded newspaper in hand. Before showing it to Flynn, he said, "I heard what happened. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say hello today, but I'm very glad you were found with no permanent damage."

"Thank you, sir. I only wish I could say the same for the woman murdered last night."

Ioder's face fell. "Yes, that's certainly tragic. Have you had any luck identifying her?"

Flynn shook his head. "I've looked through missing persons reports, but in a city this size it's impossible to narrow down."

"That's too bad. Well, I've got news about Carter. This came out in the evening edition of the paper." He slid the paper to Flynn, who's face tightened when he saw the headline.

_Noble Kidnapped! Heartbreaker Gives Commandant a Challenge!_

He already knew he wasn't going to like the rest of the article, which he was delighted to note had been written by his old friend Angie Klapp, but he read onward. At first it was just a description of what had happened with Carter, but Flynn leaned in closer when he got to the pertinent part.

_Will poor Lord Carter be found? It seems it is entirely in Commandant Flynn's hands. This morning, an envelope was delivered to the newspaper office. Inside was a letter from the Heartbreaker himself. While this was a shocking discovery for us, we have included the text of the letter uncensored as follows:_

_'Dear people of Zaphias,_

_As you must have noticed, a member of your public has gone missing. I can assure you he is quite fine… for now. I'm not sure how much longer he'll last, so I certainly hope Flynn finds him soon. I spoke with your Commandant yesterday and provided him with all the information he needs to find poor Ernest. You can think of this as a test to see if he really is cut-out for this difficult job!'_

_There the letter ended. Is this message truly from the killer who's stalked Zaphias these past three weeks? And what did he mean by giving the commandant the information? I can speculate that this has to do with the commandant's mysterious disappearance yesterday, though so far the Imperial Knights have been cryptic about where precisely he was. Alarming though this secrecy is, I fear we will have to put our trust in Commandant Flynn and hope he doesn't drop the ball this time_.

The article continued to speculate on Flynn's past records and whether or not he'd find Carter in time, but he stopped reading once he realized it was nothing but heavily-biased criticism. He looked up to Ioder, who watched with a serious expression. "And this article appeared in papers throughout the city?"

"Yes. Flynn, I have to ask. When you encountered the killer yesterday,  _did_  he give you information?"

Flynn stared at the smudged black words and idly stroked Kat's neck. "The number sixteen. That's all I know. He said it was important." Sixteen what? Sixteen streets? Sixteen victims? Sixteen newspaper articles bashing him before the killer let Carter go?

"Carter wasn't on the Council, but several members were part of his bowling club and they are quite concerned about him. They want you to make finding him your highest priority."

Flynn nodded. "It already was as soon as I read this." He still kept running the number sixteen through his head, wondering what that could possibly refer to. How was he supposed to find this man with only that number to go on? The Heartbreaker hadn't told the reporter just how little information Flynn knew. He was making it sound like he'd lined all the dots up for him and Flynn just needed to use a little thinking to connect them, but all his dots were blurry and none of them were numbered.

"People are going to expect you to solve this easily, since they think you know a lot more than you do."

"I know. We can submit a statement saying we don't actually know very much, but without going into confidential case information that we can't publish, no one will believe us."

"All I can say is that you'd better figure this out fast before you public opinion plummets."

"I'll try."

After Ioder left, Flynn looked to Kat, who was somewhere in the limbo between awake and asleep on his lap. "It must be easy being a cat. All you do is sleep and eat." Flynn usually loved his job, but sometimes, when crap like this happened, he really wished he was a cat.


	9. Really

Estelle went to the prison cells alone this time. Zagi was currently the only resident, so when she entered the long line of cells and heard a metallic banging from up ahead, she knew it was him. She was tempted to turn back and ask Rita to come with her, but Rita was busy doing science and besides, she could do this on her own. Zagi was behind bars; there was nothing to fear.

When she stood before his cell, he paused. He'd been striking his metal arm against the bars repeatedly, but now he grinned at her like a hungry predator. "Hello, princess. Have you caught your killer yet? Do I get to fight Yuri now?"

Estelle steeled herself. "Not yet. We've had more developments on the case, and I'd like your input on them."

"Ooh, more grisly murders? Do tell."

She hated to think she was entertaining Zagi by giving him the details of the woman murdered in front of Flynn, but it might help them catch this monster. "One more girl was murdered. Yesterday, Flynn was captured by the Heartbreaker. He killed the girl in front of Flynn, told him the number of times he stabbed her was significant, and then let him go."

Zagi shrugged. "If your dear commandant met the guy, why do you need my help identifying him?"

"Flynn was blindfolded. He doesn't know what the culprit looks like. What do you make of this? If his goal is to get to Flynn, and he  _had_  Flynn, why did he let him go? Yesterday, he kidnapped a nobleman and then told the newspaper that he already gave Flynn all the clues he needs to save him. Why did he start this now? The first six victims were killed immediately after being taken." Estelle didn't know how to make sense of the case. The killer's patterns kept changing and she couldn't figure out what he was even trying to accomplish. Zagi had said he seemed to have a larger goal he was aiming for, but she hadn't the foggiest idea what that could be.

"Obviously killing Flynn isn't his goal. If that's what he really wanted, he would have sliced him up by now."

"If he doesn't want to kill Flynn, why did he give Flynn a clue?"

"I told you last time. He wants Flynn to catch him. That's his goal."

Estelle frowned. "Why doesn't he just turn himself in, then?"

Zagi shrugged again. "Probably because that's too easy. I bet he wants Flynn to catch him, but only if he proves he's a worthy opponent."

Estelle mulled this over. It made sense, but then the earlier hidden messages hadn't been clues to stopping him. They'd just been opportunities to taunt Flynn. "Why send the letter to the newspaper?"

He pressed his face against the bars and grinned. "That's what makes it fun, isn't it? Now all of Zaphias it impatiently waiting for Flynn to triumph. More pressure. More urgency. More fun."

"I still don't understand. Does he want to make Flynn miserable, or does he want Flynn to successfully capture him?"

"Why not both?"

"A Pyrrhic victory, you mean?"

Zagi leaned back and wrinkled his brow with deep confusion.

"That means a victory that comes at such a cost that it's basically a defeat because winning wasn't worth what it took to get there."

"You're sure annoying." He leaned forward again. "Come a little closer so I can rip that tongue out of your mouth before you blabber again."

Estelle hurriedly stepped back, although she was nowhere near arm's reach. "O-ok, but you think he wants Flynn to catch him, but to make Flynn so miserable doing it he doesn't feel victorious?"

"Maybe. I really can't say for certain. What you should figure out is why he wants to get caught. Why would he want to be in prison? Prison is boring. I haven't killed anyone in a week!"

"Why do  _you_  think he wants to get caught?"

"I told you already: I don't know. You're the one who's supposed to be the clever hero. Figure out yourself." Zagi wandered away from the bars, which Estelle took as a signal that he was done talking.

She left, more confused than when she'd come. She still didn't understand the Heartbreaker, but what Zagi had said about a Pyrrhic victory worried her. Flynn was already distraught about what had happened during his abduction, and she didn't want to think that it would get worse.

* * *

Two days after the paper came out claiming Flynn had everything he needed to know to find Carter, two things had not happened. First, Flynn had not found Carter. Second, Flynn had not talked to Yuri. The second was partially related to the first. Pressure from the Council, the public, and even within the Knights had Flynn working nonstop to figure out where Carter was. He had sent out teams of knights to explore every old building with a known basement in the city in hopes of finding the location he'd been held in, and Estelle had helped him pour through the library to find any reference to the number sixteen.

He also found himself dragged into Council meetings and forced to explain that he already understood how dire this situation was and tell them everything he'd been doing to prove he wasn't slacking. Holding back sardonic comments about how standing before them to explain what he'd been doing rather than actually doing things was not conducive to actually getting things done became increasingly difficult to hold in.

Yesterday, he'd reluctantly agreed to an interview with a reporter - thankfully not Angie - just to get people off his back, and spent forty-five minutes trying to make it clear that  _no_ , the killer hadn't given him a plethora of clues. He had one tiny thing to go off, and it wasn't getting them anywhere. The reporter also wanted the complete scoop on exactly what had happened to him during his abduction, and either didn't understand or didn't care about Flynn's obvious desire to avoid talking about it. The horror and pain of that day still kept him awake at night until only Kat's gentle breathing curled up at his feet put him to sleep, and it really wasn't something he wanted to talk about with a complete stranger who only wanted the juicy details to sell papers.

With every passing day, it become increasingly unlikely they'd find Carter alive. Sodia, Estelle, and even Ioder himself took time to tell him it wasn't his fault and he was doing his best, but with everyone else demanding to know why he hadn't rescued the poor old man yet, it was difficult to keep his spirits up.

This mess was why he hadn't spoken to Yuri yet, because he really didn't have the time. The conversation about exactly what their relationship was and how they honestly felt about each other was something that needed a long time and appropriate focus. He couldn't deal with relationship drama when he was trying to save both a man's life and his public perception.

It was evening now, and Flynn was ready to go home. He'd stayed later than usual to try to squeeze his regular work in between the Heartbreaker mess, and had a turkey sandwich sent up from the castle kitchens in lieu of a proper dinner. He felt guilty, though, because Kat must be hungry and he had a responsibility to get him and feed her. She didn't have the option of calling for a turkey sandwich. Flynn was glad she didn't, because if she no longer had to rely on him for food he feared his position as Master of the House would vanish from her mind.

He couldn't go home yet, though, because Rita had shown up to talk about Carter. As much as Flynn wanted to find him, he also never wanted to hear the name 'Carter' again. "Please tell me you found something useful."

"Sorry." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I went with the others to check out the house and look for any clues. Like you said, there was no sign of a break-in. Repede sniffed the whole property but couldn't find any trace of ether. Raven examined the locks on all the doors and said here was no sign any of them had been picked - don't ask how that old creep would knew what a picked lock would look like. We found his agenda in the study and he didn't have any outings planned for that night. This guy was meticulous, too - he planned out when he would walk to the store to buy milk. Doesn't seem to me like the guy who'd wander out of his house at night out of the blue, so the killer must have come to him. What we can't figure out, though, is how he got in and how he got Carter away. We're pretty sure the killer was inside, too, because Karol found this clinging to a curtain in the hallway." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial.

Flynn leaned close and saw a dark hair about three inches long.

"Can't be Carter's," Rita explained, eyes on it. "His hair is short and grey. The maid is blonde and curly. Judith asked the maid and she claims she cleaned everything the day he disappeared, including the curtains, so this hair would have to have been left after she went home for the day."

"That's a hair from our killer, then?"

"Or someone else who came to visit Carter that night. Unfortunately, none of the neighbours were watching the street so we don't know when he arrived, how he got in, or how he left with Carter."

Flynn rested his chin on his folded hands. He really needed to thank Yuri and the others for doing such a thorough job examining Carter's house. They must have been there for the better part of the day, tearing it apart for clues. "Maybe he knocked," Flynn tiredly suggested.

"What? Just knock and say 'hello, I'm a murderer, would you please come into captivity with me'?"

Flynn closed his eyes for a second. His shoulders hurt. Whether this was from leaning over his desk all day or a remnant from hanging by his arms a few days ago, he wasn't sure. In any case, he really just wanted to go home, give Kat her dinner, and then take the longest and hottest bath the world had ever seen.

"I don't know. It isn't likely. I'm sorry, I don't have any answers tonight. I'll sleep on it and maybe something will occur to me tomorrow. Thank you so much for all your hard work, Miss Mordio. Please pass along my thanks to the others."

"Why don't you thank them yourself? Something's up with Yuri; you ought to talk to him."

His brow creased with concern. "Is he not well?"

Rita shrugged. "He's just been moping around, but also trying hard to not  _look_  like he's moping around. Something's obviously bothering him, and it started the day after he found you. I think Estelle knows what it is, but when I asked her she just serious look on her face and told me she wasn't allowed to tell. Whatever the case, when Yuri's grouchy it's almost always to do with you, so you should sort this out."

Yuri was upset? Was it because Flynn had overstepped his bounds, or because he wanted Flynn to step further? He didn't know and frankly he had enough to deal with right now without worrying about Yuri. "Thank you for telling me. I'll stop by when I can."

"Yeah, all right." She got to her feet and added, "Whenever you have time. Hope you figure out where this Carter guy is soon - Estelle's really upset about all this."

"I'm doing my best."

Rita left and he decided it was time to go home before anyone else showed up to delay him. He could finish the rest of these papers at home, after Kat had been fed. He piled them into a folder, put on his coat, and hurried out of the castle.

Flynn unlocked his door and kicked snow off his boots on the front step. What a long day. He hadn't observed his weekly day off since this whole mess started, although maybe he should take all his missed days off and lump them together into a short vacation when the Heartbreaker was finally caught. He hung his coat by the door and trudged into the kitchen.

Cat food poured into the bowl, but he didn't hear the tell-tale patter of paws running for the kitchen. She hadn't come running when he came home, either, which she usually did when he came back late. With a pang of guilt, he wondered if she was still upset about being abandoned a few days ago when he'd been abducted. Hopefully she was just asleep and not actively ignoring him in payback.

"I'm sorry, Kat," he called on his way to the stairs. "I shouldn't stay late. I know I'm a horrible owner. Can you ever forgive me?" She still hadn't come running, so she was probably asleep. Maybe she'd slept right through dinner time and wouldn't notice that he was late, and he'd be off the hook.

Just to be thorough, he poked his head in the spare bedroom and the study to check if she was there. In the study, he paused to remember if he had really left the curtains open. There was nothing on the other side of the window but a brick wall, so he usually kept the curtains closed because the fabric was nicer to look at than grey blocks. Sometimes he did open them to let in a little light, though, and now he couldn't remember if he'd done that the last time he worked in here. Well, they were open now, so he must have.

"Kat, are you still ignoring me?" he called. "Your dinner is downstairs; you can stop being mad at me now." He walked to his bedroom, expecting to find her curled up on his pillow and glaring at him. He entered the room with a smile, and then froze.

He found Kat. She was on the floor, and she was covered in blood. His shoulder it the doorframe and his knees turned to jelly. It took a few moments to even register what he was looking at, and then he ran for the bathroom and threw up in the sink.

"Fuck!" He smashed his fists against the porcelain sink. It hurt, but he didn't care. His fingers tightened around the edge of the sink and he stared into the mirror, taking heaving breaths.  _Why?_  Why the  _fuck_  would someone kill his cat? He didn't even have to wonder who it was, not when the cause of death so closely mimicked the earlier murders. Torso split open, organs scattered on the carpet, blood soaking into his bedroom floor.  _Fuck_.

She was just a cat. She had nothing to do with this. Tears rose in his eyes and he couldn't bring himself to go back to his room again. He was going to kill that bastard. Kat was just an innocent animal, and he'd made her suffer for no reason. Another thought managed to break through his shock: the Heartbreaker had been inside his house.  _What if he's still here_?

He should search the house. He didn't have the energy to do that, not to a degree that would be satisfactory. Even if he did search and find nothing, who was to say the killer wouldn't come back? His skin crawled as he imagined that bastard walking through his house. Just picturing that horrible man in his bedroom made Flynn feel violated. Then he imagined Kat hiding in a closet like she always did when strangers were here, and the killer stalking through the house looking for her, finding her huddled on the top shelf of the closet and dragging her, scratching and yowling down, carrying her to Flynn's bedroom and pulling out a knife…

His thoughts cut off with a choked sob. He couldn't do this. He couldn't stay in this house. He didn't even know what to do with Kat. He couldn't sleep with her in his room like that, but where did you put a dead animal? Were you just supposed to throw the body away? He couldn't do that to her. Nothing about this was ok. All he knew was that he had to get out of here. He stumbled out of the bathroom, not able to bring himself to look at the open doorway to his room. He walked downstairs, grabbed his coat, and left the house in a daze.

* * *

It really was winter now. Well, technically it was still autumn if you looked at the calendar, but don't tell the weather that. A foot of snow settled comfortably over the streets, and Yuri kept his window closed and sat in a chair looking out. He had considered opening it anyway, but Repede had barked at him and told him that even if he was crazy about temperatures, Repede certainly wasn't going to put up with that crap when he was comfy and warm already.

The door burst open. Yuri leapt to his feet and reached for his sword before realizing who it was. "Flynn?"

"Hey." His voice was flat and his face dead.

A blast of cold air from the open door hit Yuri, and then Flynn closed the door and stood sniffling in the room. At first Yuri thought the sniffling was from walking out in the cold and then suddenly coming inside, but then he looked closer and saw Flynn's eyes tinged with red and drying streaks down his cheeks.

"What happened? Are you all right?" The last time Flynn had shown up at his house, shivering and distraught, he'd been abducted and tortured by a serial killer. Yuri rushed across the room to check for injuries.

"I'm fine," he mumbled when Yuri reached his side. "Kat's dead."

Yuri froze with his hand reached for Flynn. "She… what? Oh, geeze, I'm sorry, Flynn." He couldn't say he'd ever liked that cat, but he knew she meant a lot to Flynn. "What happened?"

"He killed her."

Yuri didn't have to ask who 'he' was.

"I found her in my room. All… all cut up. He was in my house, Yuri. He snuck into my house and killed my cat." His shoulders shook and fresh tears rose in his eyes. "She never hurt anybody. She was just a c-cat."

Yuri reached for Flynn's shoulder, but as soon as he touched him, Flynn fell against him. "I'm - I'm pathetic, aren't I?" he cried while Yuri awkwardly wrapped one arm around him. "seven people are d-dead, and here I am… c-crying over a… a  _cat!"_

"It's all right. I know you really loved that cat."

"Why is he doing this to me?" He pressed his forehead into Yuri's shoulder. "Everything he's doing… it's all just to mess with me, isn't it? All these people have died because of me."

"Whoa, hold on, you can't go blaming yourself for that."

"What does he  _want_  from me? If he'd just tell me, maybe he wouldn't have to kill my cat!"

"I don't know. When we catch him, I'll kick his ass until he tells us." He pulled away from Flynn just enough to guide him to the bed, so they could sit down. Holding Flynn's weight as he leaned against him was getting tiring.

Flynn rubbed his eyes with his sleeves and tried to stop crying. "I need to stop crying over a cat. I'm the commandant. I need to hold myself together."

"You can cry if you need to. No one else is here. As far as I'm concerned, you're just the same old Flynn."

Flynn took a few deep breaths and leaned against Yuri. "I'm going to kill him."

Yuri frowned, not sure he liked the venom in Flynn's voice. "No, you're not. You're Flynn. You don't kill people like that."

"I hate him," Flynn breathed. "I want to make him pay for all the people he's made suffer."

"And you will. Just imagine the look on his face when you arrest him."

Flynn swallowed heavily and took a deep, shaking breath. "Yeah." He rubbed his eyes again to wipe away the last of his tears. "I think… I think I'm ok now." He took a few more deep breaths and then said, "Thanks, Yuri."

"Any time." Yuri had never liked Flynn's cat, but thinking of some bastard sneaking into Flynn's house and murdering an innocent animal pissed him off. There were certain things you just weren't supposed to hurt, and kids and animals were at the top of the list. He really hoped he ran into this guy before Flynn did, because he wanted to beat him to a pulp and Flynn would never let him do that. Still, he held his fury in for Flynn's sake.

Flynn rested his arms on his thighs and leaned forward. "Yuri… I don't feel safe in my own house. Not knowing he was there, and what he did." He raised his head and met Yuri's eyes. "Can I… stay with you?"

Yuri let out a small breath. He could read Flynn's face, and Flynn was asking so much more than if he could just spend the night. There had been too much shared between them over so many years that he didn't have to ask about the unspoken question hidden in the request. Flynn sat so close to him Yuri could feel his rapid heartbeat, not from the grief over Kat but his fear of what Yuri's answer would be. Yuri had never been a man short on words, but now they all stuck in his throat.

The sensible thing to do would be to tell Flynn 'no'. Flynn had too much on his plate to worry about this, too. Flynn needed to stay on his own path, and he didn't need Yuri's corruptive influence getting in the way. But then, he thought about what Estelle had reminded him: Flynn had a right to make his own choices and choose his own path. It was Flynn's life Yuri worried about wrecking, and it wasn't fair to keep the truth from him and rob him of the chance to make his own decisions. He had to be honest.

His heart throbbed and the word came out slow and cautious. "…Yes."

Flynn watched his face carefully. Yuri became acutely aware of every tiny movement in his mouth and brow. Flynn's Adam's apple bobbed and his puffy, red-rimmed eyes showed a glimmer of relief. He whispered, "Really?"

Yuri nodded once, and then instead of answering aloud, he leaned forward. The arm still around Flynn's shoulders pulled him closer, while his other hand landed on the side of Flynn's face. Yuri's little finger brushed the side of Flynn's neck, and he felt Flynn's heart rate skyrocketing. Flynn's eyes opened wider and he struggled to breathe properly. Yuri couldn't say he felt that much more confident. Why was he having such difficulty keeping his hands from shaking? It wasn't like he'd never kissed anyone before. He wasn't an awkward square like Flynn, and yet his heart fluttered like he was fifteen again.

Before he could chicken out, Yuri shut his eyes and closed the gap between their faces. Flynn's lips were rough, chapped from the cold and wind, so different from the soft, feminine lips he was more used to. Flynn stiffened. Worried that he'd gone too far too fast, Yuri pulled back and looked to him questioningly. Flynn gave him an apologetic look, and then wrapped his arms around Yuri's waist and pulled him back.

Flynn didn't know what he was doing. Yuri doubted he'd ever done this before, but Yuri didn't care. This was his Flynn, and he wanted him, awkwardness and all. Flynn's hands slid higher, digging into his back. His nose bumped against Yuri's cheek, so cold compared to the warmth coming from his mouth. Sensations blurred through Yuri's mind: salty tears on his tongue, cold hair twining through his fingers, and soft gasps as Flynn tried to find time to breathe.

Yuri had no way of telling how long it lasted, only that it simultaneously lasted an age while also not lasting nearly long enough. When Flynn pulled back, panted for breath, and stared at him with red cheeks, Yuri smiled and finally answered, "Really."

Flynn leaned in again, this time pressing his face into the crook of Yuri's neck. "I've had a really bad day."

"I know." His hand brushed the back of Flynn's head. "Do you feel any better?"

"A little," he whispered.

"Stay with me tonight. We'll work out where to go next tomorrow."

"Yeah. Ok."

Yuri pulled the blankets back and crawled under them, Flynn close behind him. When Flynn pulled the blankets to his chin and then snuggled closer, Yuri asked, "Are you sure?"

Flynn closed his eyes and pulled himself close against Yuri. "There are very few times I've ever been more sure of how I feel."


	10. Five Steps

Fingers twirled through his hair. Flynn cracked open his eyes and for a moment he wondered why he was in Yuri's room. Then he remembered, and smiled. Yuri lay in bed next to him, propped on one elbow. He lightly ran his hand through Flynn's hair, wrapping the strands around his fingers. Flynn yawned and rolled over to face Yuri.

"Sorry." He pulled his hand back.

"It's ok."

"How do you feel?"

Flynn thought for a moment, and then sighed. "Upset." The pain of losing Kat wasn't as raw as it was last night, but it still made his heart ache. He grabbed Yuri's elbow and pushed him onto his back. "Lie down. You're letting the cold air under the covers."

"Hmph. Sorry for trying to be active." Yuri wiggled closer so their shoulders pressed against each other and there were only inches between their cheeks.

It would be nice to lay in bed all day. Flynn had only recently identified what these growing feelings in him were, but already it was a relief to feel them satisfied. Yuri's bed was narrow and hard, but with both of them squeezed together under the blanket, it was the most perfect place in the world. He listened to Yuri's breathing, so close next to him, and let himself imagine a perfect world where Yuri stayed in Zaphias forever and they could see each other every day while working together to reform the empire.

Of course, that would never happen. Flynn stared at the ceiling and said, "This was probably a mistake." Yuri flinched, so imperceptibly Flynn almost missed it, but with him lying so close, Flynn felt every movement of his muscles. "I mean, in the larger context," he quickly added. He twisted onto his side so he could look at Yuri's face. "This is exactly where I want to be, Yuri. It's just… I know I shouldn't."

Yuri turned his head and nodded. "I get it. Politics, right?"

Flynn frowned. "Everyone expects me to find myself a noblewoman. If the Council found out I chose you instead…"

Yuri smirked. "Considering I'm not noble  _or_  a woman. Which of those traits is more damning?"

"I'm really not sure. All I know is that a good portion of the Council already dislikes me because I'm from the lower quarter, and a relationship with you is not going to do anything to endear me to them. At the same time, though, the Council and the Knights don't  _have_  to get along. We are separate branches of the government, so there's very little the Council can actually do to me. I suppose in specific cases they could rally together and get an executive order to boss me around, but they can't do that for every small thing."

"But getting the Council to work with you will make things much easier to get the empire sorted out."

Flynn nodded. "That's the problem. I'm doing everything I can to reform the Knights, but the fundamental injustices the afflict our people need to be solved through legal and political reformation beyond the reach of simply the military. I can't directly change the taxation system or give lower class people access to better legal treatment. All I can do is use my position to pressure the Council, and the less they respect me, the weaker that pressure is going to be."

"I completely understand. That's why I was so hesitant to tell you about this in the first place." Yuri looked to the ceiling and folded his hands on his chest. "We have our own paths to follow. We each have goals and methods that the other can't reach. How can we be both together, and also on different paths?" His frowned deepened. "There's no room for someone like my on yours, and someone like you doesn't belong on mine."

"I think we need to tread cautiously." Flynn spoke slowly, thinking things out even as he said them. "There are many barriers that would keep us apart, but if your feelings are even half as strong as mine are-"

"'Course they are."

Flynn kicked Yuri's calf. "This isn't a competition. I was speaking hypothetically. What I mean is, we've overcome great obstacles in the past. We're fighters, and difficulty has never scared us off before."

"Yeah, that's right." Yuri turned to him with a grin. "I'm not giving you up without a fight."

Flynn couldn't help smiling back. "We should keep this private. We can tell Lady Estellise and your friends, of course, but in general I think it would be best if the public remain under the impression that I am a bachelor."

Yuri's grin turned to a smirk. "Yeah, just think of the epidemic of broken hearts that would sweep Zaphias if the heartthrob with the steely gaze was taken."

Flynn kicked him again. He was never going to live that title from Nordopolica down, was he?

"Hey, stop kicking me."

"Stop being an idiot."

"You stop first."

"I'm trying to have a serious discussion about the direction of our relationship!"

"We've discussed it enough. Here's what we do. Step one." He grabbed Flynn's head and pulled himself close before locked his lips on Flynn's face.

For a moment Flynn was too surprised to do anything but feel Yuri's lips brush across his, and then he leaned forward and opened his mouth. His left arm wrapped around Yuri's shoulders, while his right was awkwardly pinned between them and the bed. All Flynn's worries about their future faded away, like stars drowned out by the overwhelming glow of a barrier blastia. His fingers squeezed Yuri's shoulder and his tongue brushed Yuri's lips. He was pretty sure the wind whistled through the alleys outside the window, but maybe that was just his blood rushing in his ears.

When Yuri pulled away, Flynn panted for breath for a few seconds. "I like step one."

"I'm rather fond of it myself."

"So what's step two?" Flynn hoped it had a lot in common with step one.

"Step two is that we tell Estelle so that she'll finally get off my back and stop trying to play cupid."

Flynn winced. "She's been doing that to you, too?"

Yuri laughed. "I think Estelle wanted us to get together more than  _we_  wanted us to get together."

"Lady Estellise is… certainly enthusiastic. What's step three?"

"Step three is the easy step, because that's where we do nothing. We tell no one. I mean, other than my friends who don't care. We don't tell the Council, we don't tell Sodia, and we don't tell that stupid newspaper reporter."

Flynn nodded. This seemed like the most sensible plan. "I agree."

"Step four is that we both continue our lives. You're doing great things as the commandant, and I enjoy my work in the guilds. We're both making a difference in our own way, and neither of us should give that up. I'll come to Zaphias when I can, and you come to Dahngrest."

"Do you really think it will work? Only seeing each other every few months?"

"Yeah, of course. After all these years, you really think I'm going to let you slip away just because I don't see you every day?"

Flynn smiled, feeling stupid for even asking. What was that old saying, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'? It was probably invented by someone trying to console themselves about having to live so far away from the person they loved, but it did make him feel hopeful. His relationship with Yuri would be far from traditional, but they'd make it work. They'd savour their times, and then keep the other in their thoughts when their paths separated again. As long as their shared feelings tied them together, they'd never  _really_  be apart.

"So, does your plan have a step five?"

Yuri grinned. "It sure does. If you liked step one, you're gonna  _love_  step five." He rolled forward, grabbed Flynn's shoulders and pinned him on his back. His lips hit Flynn's jawline and traced it to his ear. He rested his knee between Flynn's legs and rubbed his face against Flynn's, while Flynn let out a soft moan and reached for Yuri's face. He let his hands trail through Yuri's hair and Yuri moved lower, trailing his lips along Flynn's neck and leaving soft kisses along the way. Yuri released Flynn's shoulders so his hands could reach for the hem of Flynn's shirt and slip up his stomach. This gave Flynn the freedom of movement to tackle Yuri and push him onto his back.

"Hey," Yuri grunted, and then Flynn silenced him with another kiss.

Even from the bottom, Yuri continued reaching under Flynn's shirt while their faces remained locked together. His calloused thumbs brushed Flynn's nipples and a shiver rushed down his spine. Flynn didn't know what to do with his own hands. He suddenly wished he'd experimented as a teenager the way Yuri had so he'd know what the hell he was doing. All he knew was that even the few centimetres between them seemed like vastly too much distance and he wanted his hands all over Yuri. He slipped one hand down the collar of Yuri's shirt and squeezed his shoulder, while the other caressed his cheek. Yuri's soft grunts when he pulled his face away just long enough to breathe hinted that he didn't mind. Yuri's hands trailed down and found the button on Flynn's pants.

Flynn pulled back and took a few breaths, and then shook his head. "Not today. I have to go to work."

"I can make it fast."

"I don't want it to be fast." He leaned forward and sucked on the side of Yuri's neck. Half a minute later, he added, "We have the rest of our lives to be together. No need to rush everything this morning."

Yuri sighed with exaggerated disappointment, but agreed. "Fine. Let's get breakfast, and then you can go back to catching this bastard."

Flynn rolled off Yuri and lay on the bed. He felt hot even though the room was cold, and his hair was even messier than usual. Yuri wasn't much better, with a flushed face and red marks on his throat.

"I need to go home and get changed." His clothes were a wrinkled mess, having slept in them, so he'd have to stop by his house before going to work. Then he remembered what he'd find on his floor when he got home, and his stomach clenched. "Dammit."

Yuri glanced to him in concern, and followed the same chain of thought. "I'll go with you."

"You don't have to."

"I'll take care of it."

Flynn hesitated, and then smiled softly. "Thanks."

Downstairs, they found the rest of Yuri's friends already eating breakfast at the Comet. Karol waved with a mouth full of scrambled eggs, while Rita glanced up from her toast.

"Hey," Yuri said, sliding into a chair next to Karol.

"Good morning, Yuri," Judith said. "You're here early, Flynn."

Flynn wasn't sure he liked that suggestive smile on her face.

"Er… I was stopping by to tell Yuri about the case." He sat next to Yuri and pulled his chair to the table, hoping he wasn't as pink-cheeked as he felt.

"That so?" Raven leaned his elbows on the table and gave Yuri a lecherous grin. "And telling you about the case involved leaving those marks on your neck?"

Flynn glanced at Yuri's neck, where he'd left red marks from too-rough kissing. Flynn's face turned redder. Yuri just laughed, and held out his hands. "Well, no point hiding it from you guys."

Karol gaped at him. "Wait… you and Flynn are…  _together_  now?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Yuri wrapped his arm around Flynn's waist and pulled his chair closer, while Flynn would rather curl up and die than discuss what had just gone on between him and Yuri with other people. It wasn't that he was exactly embarrassed, he just felt that it was  _private_ , and would rather Yuri didn't give out too many details.

Karol stared for a few more seconds, and then slammed his fist on the table. "Darn it!"

"Huh?" Yuri was as confused as Flynn.

Judith grinned and held out her hand. "Pay up, you two."

Karol grumbled and reached into his bag for his wallet, while Rita laughed and grinned. Raven glared at Yuri and said, "You owe me for this, kid." He pulled out fifty gald and reluctantly handed it to Judith, who took his and Karol's, split it in half, and handed half to Rita.

"Wait…" Yuri said, looking between them, "were you guys  _betting_  on us?"

Rita was too busy counting her gald with a huge grin, so Karol explained. "Judith and Rita thought you and Flynn would get together before the end of the year. Raven and I thought it would take a lot longer."

Yuri laughed, while Flynn rested his face in his hands and tried to pretend a group of people he didn't know very well had not been taking bets on his love life.

* * *

The stench of a rotting body even reached downstairs. Flynn sat on his couch, feeling guilty about leaving this grim task to Yuri but also not feeling the willpower to enter his bedroom again. He sat on his couch and stared at the cat tree that Kat had never liked. He supposed he might as well throw it out now, but… he didn't have the heart to do it. There was still orange and white fur on his couch, and an indentation on the back where she'd always curled up to sleep. He kept thinking that any minute now he'd feel her soft head bump against his as he tried to relax, or spot her lurking on top of the bookshelf and waiting for her supper.

It was really screwed up priorities to be this heartbroken over a cat, he told himself. He thought of Mrs. Zimmerman and all the other families he hadn't spoken to personally, and how much deeper their pain must be. Then he thought of all the pain this one man had brought to so many people, and was more determined than ever to bring him to justice.

Yuri came downstairs with a bundle wrapped in sheets. He stood hesitantly at the foot of the stairs and said, "You have a bit of a yard out back, right?"

Flynn nodded, unable to stop looking at the bundle but also wishing he could never look at it again. "It's mostly dirt. I never had time to plant anything. There's a shovel in the kitchen, though. The ground's probably frozen." He started to get up. "I can help."

"I'll manage. Sit down."

"I want to help." She was his cat. He'd always feel guilty if he wasn't there to say goodbye one last time.

Flynn led Yuri through the kitchen and out the door to the yard. It was a small square of land with high stone walls separating it from the other houses. In the summer the ground was covered in weeds and dandelions that Flynn always meant to pull but never got around to, but now they had to kick aside a layer of snow before accessing the ground. Yuri set the bundle on the back step, and then Flynn slammed the shovel into the ground. It took a few tries to break through the frozen dirt. He didn't mind the effort, though. It took his mind off the tiny body sitting only a few feet away. He started picturing the ground as the killer, and took his frustration and grief out on the dirt.

By the time he'd dug a small pit, about three feet deep and two feet in diameter, his arms hurt from how much force he'd used. His fingers would hurt more, except he hadn't worn any gloves and now they were numb from the freezing morning air. "Ok," he said hoarsely.

Yuri silently picked up the bundle and carried her to the hole. As he bent, an orange tail fell out of the sheets. It hung limp, with fur clumped together with dried blood. Flynn jerked his head away and bit his lip, and couldn't look back until she was in the hole. Yuri grabbed the shovel and refilled the grave. When he was done, he stuck the shovel into the snow to hold it up and then turned to Flynn. "Do you want to say anything?"

Flynn took a few steps forward and stood close to Yuri, looking down at the uneven pile of dirt. He closed his eyes. "There's nothing to say. She was a good cat, and I'm going to find the bastard who did this. If he thinks he can… I don't know, ruin my resolve or whatever he's trying to do, he's got another thing coming." A strong part of him, a part that grew in strength every time he found a body, wanted to kill him. Flynn feared the growing strength of this dark chunk of his soul, and did whatever he could to squash it. It wasn't his place to kill a criminal. It never would be, not matter how many innocent lives he took. Even if he wanted to walk by Yuri's side in life, he couldn't join him on that path.

Yuri's hand rested on his shoulder. "You ok?"

Flynn took a deep breath. The cold air hurt the back of his throat, but cleared his head. "Yeah. Thanks." He pulled his eyes away from the grave. "I need to get ready to go. I'm going to find Carter. I'm going to find the bastard who did this, and I won't rest until he's behind bars."

They went inside, and Yuri waited downstairs while Flynn went upstairs to get changed. He hesitated when he first entered his room, he eyes locked on the stain in the carpet. Yuri had done his best to clean it and the roomed smelled like cleaning supplies more than blood now, but a bloodstain left to soak into the carpet overnight was hard to get out. He'd have to replace the whole carpet, because he couldn't live with a reminder like that in his bedroom.

After changing, he went back downstairs. "I'm going to work. I'm late already. Where are you headed?"

"Back to the lower quarter, unless you need anything."

Flynn shook his head. "Can't think of anything right now. Yuri… thanks again."

"Don't mention it." He kissed Flynn on the cheek, and then sent him on his way.

Minutes after Flynn arrived at work, Sodia rushed to his office. "Commandant! You're late," she said with a hint of reproach as she neared his desk.

"Sorry." He had been a couple of hours late getting in, since he'd slept in at Yuri's place and then took time out to bury Kat. He couldn't tell her precisely where he'd been last night, so he told her a partial truth. "My cat died."

Her expression softened and her eyes widened with pity. "Oh, sir, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

"The Heartbreaker snuck into my house and killed her. I think he was sending me a message." He grimaced and added, "Or maybe he just really hates cats."

"How dare he…" Sodia's pity turned to fury. "This man had better face the noose when we finally catch him."

Flynn nodded. "I'll make sure he does."

"Anyway, sir, what I really needed to tell you is that we've found another body."

Flynn couldn't even bring himself to feel surprised anymore. "Damn. Who now? Carter?"

Sodia shook her head. "A young woman. She was found around dawn on Fifty-Eighth Street. She's been identified as Madison Rhodes."

"And you're sure she's from our same killer?" He hadn't expected another body until Carter was found, either alive or dead.

"We're not positive, but… she suffered nineteen stab wounds and marks on her skin indicate she was bound and gagged. I thought that sounded similar to the incident you bore witness to."

Flynn nodded with a tense frown. "You're right. That does sound familiar."

"Here, sir." She placed a folder on his desk. "There are sketches from the crime scene and all the notes we took. I've already got knights interviewing everybody in the area, but we don't have much knowledge yet."

"Thank you."

Sodia left him with the case file, and Flynn glumly flipped through it. With a pang, he wished he had Kat to talk it out to.

* * *

Yuri dug his shovel into the snow and then took a few steps forward, scraping it along the smooth flagstone street. Then he lifted his arms and chucked the snow into a dirty pile at the end of the narrow street. Shovelling snow was a pain, but he liked helping out and besides, it was a good workout for his arms.

He couldn't feel too upset about anything today. Every time his arms got tired from shovelling, he remembered the taste of Flynn's skin and the feel of Flynn's hands sliding over his bare shoulders. This filled him with a fuzzy feeling that put a skip in his step and renewed his energy. He felt guilty being so happy when Flynn was so upset about Kat, but he couldn't help it.

Running footsteps crunched in the snow, and then Estelle tore around the corner. "Yuri! I found you!"

He stopped and rested his arm on the top of the shovel. "Hey, Estelle. What's up?"

Estelle threw herself at him and wrapped him in a huge hug that nearly knocked him over.

"Whoa! What's this for?"

"Yuri! I talked to Flynn and he told me what happened. I'm so happy for you!"

"Oh, that."

She pulled away and smiled brightly. "I  _knew_  he felt the same way about you. Didn't I tell you? I'm so glad you two finally shared your feelings."

Yuri frowned slightly. "Yeah, and it turns out the rest of you guys were taking bets."

Estelle put her hand to mouth and giggled. "Oops, you found out about that?"

"Well it's not like they put any effort into hiding it."

"We're all just happy for you. But, Yuri, shouldn't you put a jacket on?" Her excitement turned to worry and she rubbed his arms with hands covered in purple knitted mittens. "It's freezing!"

"Really, I'm fine." He gestured at the coat lying on the ground by the door. "I took my jacket off fifteen minutes ago because I got too hot." He always started shovelling properly dressed for winter with a coat, gloves, hat, and scarf, but the exertion of shovelling inevitably warmed him up until he sweat through the gloves and tossed them aside in discomfort.

"Hm… if you're sure. You'd better put your coat back on if you feel cold."

Yuri tried to be exasperated with her fretting, but in truth he appreciated how much she worried about him. No one had ever given so much attention to his health before he met Estelle. "Yeah, yeah, all right."

"Whose house is this, anyway?" she asked, looking to the grey stone bricks.

"Oh, this is Hanks' house. He has trouble shovelling these days because of his age, so I help him out."

"That's very nice of you."

Yuri shrugged one shoulder. "It's the least I can do after how much he's helped us over the years."

"Can I help?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I only have one shovel."

"That's ok." She planted her hands on it and said, "I'll give you a rest."

"Are you sure? It's more work than it looks."

"If I can battle monsters, I think I can shovel a street. You rest and I'll shovel for a bit."

"If you say so." Yuri sat on the front step and leaned against the doorframe. "Just scoop it all into that big slushy pile at the end of the street."

"Ok! I can do it!" Estelle dug the shovel into the snow and then ran forward, ploughing the snow forward. It bunched up onto her shovel until she was forced to slow down and had to take long, fighting strides to keep pushing against the built up snow. Yuri sat back and watched with a bit of amusement as she reached the end of the street and then tried to shovel the entire weight of everything she'd pushed in one go. Her arms strained and her face tightened, but she managed to lift a good percentage of it and then tossed it forward. The snow hit the side of the pile and slid down, and she was left with a mess of ploughed snow to throw onto the big pile, but it was an admirable first try.

"This is harder than it looks," she said, shovelling big scoops of snow onto the pile.

"Yeah, it's a real pain."

"I'll be sure to thank the servants at the castle for keeping all the paths through the gardens clear the next time I see them." She walked back in Yuri's direction and started over again to whittle away at the sheet of snow covering the street.

"So is that all you came down here for? To congratulate me on Flynn?" It was started to get cold now that he wasn't moving around. The sweat dampening his shirt made him shiver, and he relented and pulled his jacket back on. Since it had been sitting in the cold for fifteen minutes, it wasn't very warm, but he hoped it would improve with body heat.

"Partially. As happy as I am about you two being happy, I'm also pretty upset about Kat."

"Ah, yeah." He hadn't been happy about Kat when he first heard about it, and he was even less happy after he'd spent the morning cleaning rotting cat guts out of a carpet. The smell still lingered in his nose if he thought about it, and he'd washed his hands in Flynn's bathroom for a good five minutes before finally feeling clean. He may not have liked Kat, but it took a true monster to do that to an innocent animal.

Estelle scooped a few shovelfuls into the pile and then turned to face Yuri. "Why do you think he killed Kat?"

"I don't know. To taunt Flynn, I suppose?"

"I talked to Zagi again. He said this guy wants Flynn to catch him, but that he wants Flynn to lose so much catching him that it isn't worth it."

Yuri pulled his hat on, since his hair had gotten sweaty and now his head was cold. "He's certainly doing a good job of it. Why, though? What has he got against Flynn?"

"I don't know." Estelle came back to the start to plough another strip. "I feel as if that is the most important question. Once we find out what his problem is with Flynn, it will narrow down our suspects."

"Or even give us a suspect in the first place."

Estelle leaned on the shovel and thought deeply. "What reason could he have to  _want_  to be caught?"

Yuri shook his head. "I have no idea. Whatever he's doing, though, I'm getting worried that he's actually really getting to Flynn."

"I know Flynn is really upset. Is that what you mean?"

"More than that." Yuri pulled his gloves back on. "When I saw his face this morning while we were burying Kat, I was actually scared for him. Flynn's more than just upset - he's pissed. Flynn holds his temper in really well, but when he snaps…" Yuri grimaced. "He can be pretty violent. If this continues to escalate, I'm worried Flynn might do something he regrets."

Estelle leaned the shovel against the wall and sat on the step next to Yuri. "You think he might… like you did with Ragou and Cumore?"

Yuri's eyes hit the snow a few feet away. "I don't know. Maybe. He's already reached the point where part of him wants to."

"Flynn would never. He's not…"

"Not like me, yeah."

Estelle bit her lip and stared at her knees. "Do you really think Flynn could ever reach the point of killing a criminal vigilante-style?"

"I'm honestly not sure. I'd like to think not. Flynn was so adamant in his belief when he confronted me about it, but that was before everything with Alexei. I know Alexei's betrayal made his idealism slip, but did it slip that far? Until recently I would have said it was preposterous, but last night he actually told me he wanted to kill this guy. All the bodies being directed at him, then that little girl, one of his own knights showing up at his front door, the letter in the paper about Carter adding so much more stress, and now this thing with Kat…" He shook his head. "Everyone has a breaking point, and I honestly don't know how much more Flynn can take."

Everyone had a right to make their own choices in life, but if Flynn chose to detour onto Yuri's path and take this criminal out on his own, that would be a huge mistake. Yuri knew from experience that it was the sort of thing you could never fully walk away from. Once Flynn bloodied his hands, he'd never be able to wash them completely clean again. Whatever happened, Yuri had to make sure Flynn never gave in to the temptation to act on his fury. If that meant killing this guy himself before Flynn could, then that's what he'd have to do.

"I really hope we catch the Heartbreaker soon."

Yuri nodded slowly. He hated having to kill Ragou and Cumore, and while he didn't regret it, he also didn't relish the thought of doing it again. He could only pray the knights brought this guy in before it reached that point, for Flynn's sake and his own. "Yeah. Me too."

The front door opened behind them, and then Hanks said, "What's this? Sitting down on the job? I expected better from you, Yuri!"

Yuri laughed and stood up. "Sorry, Gramps, not all of us get to lie in bed and let others do their chores for them."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hanks!" Estelle jumped and clutched her hands together. "I was helping Yuri but I took a break."

Hanks glanced between Estelle and Yuri, and then said, "Getting the pretty lady to do your work? Should have known you were that kind of lazy slacker."

"Oh, it's not like that at all!" Estelle hurriedly said, oblivious to Hanks' sarcasm. "I offered to help Yuri."

Hanks smiled. "That so? Well, Yuri, I think you've found yourself a keeper."

Yuri just rolled his eyes while Estelle blushed. "N-No, you're misunderstanding. Yuri and I are just friends. Our relationship really isn't like that!"

"In any case, I can bring you an extra shovel if you really want to help."

"Yes, thank you, I would appreciate that."

Hanks returned to his house and came back a few minutes later with another shovel, which he handed to Estelle.

"Thank you, sir!"

"You're the one shovelling my street. I should be thanking you."

"Come on, Yuri," Estelle said, running for the snow.

Yuri picked up the shovel from before and then lined himself up next to Estelle. "Ok. I'll race you to the pile at the end." Estelle nodded and they lined their shovels up. "Ready… set… go!" With that, they took off ploughing.

* * *

It was evening. Flynn sat in his office, trying to find the nerve to head home. If he went home, he'd be all alone in an empty house with a bloodstain on his bedroom floor that made his chest hurt. How could he sleep peacefully tonight knowing the killer had been inside his house? What if he came back? What if he attacked Flynn again and dragged him off to interrogate him on why he hadn't found Carter yet? To keep these thoughts at bay, he pulled out the file of the murdered girl and looked over the facts again.

Madison Rhodes, age twenty-one. She worked in a flower shop in the public quarter. She'd been reported missing five days ago after never coming home from work. Flynn stared at the sketch of her from the crime scene, finally seeing the face of the woman he'd been unable to save. Her hair was light and curly and her eyes open with shock. Stab wounds covered her limbs, culminating in one spearing her throat.

As he stared, screams echoed through his head again and he suppressed a shudder. His wrists ached from remembered pain and he squeezed his eyes shut to try to block out the memories. Nineteen times this poor woman had been stabbed. Nineteen wasn't the number, though. The number was sixteen. He was supposed to remember that number, but what for? Why was it so important? Why did Madison Rhodes have to die for the number sixteen?!

And then he realized what it meant. His grip tightened on the paper, wondering if it could really be that simple. It was worth a shot, wasn't it? He grabbed his coat and ran out the door. At Sodia's office, he didn't even wait for her to reply after banging on the door.

"Commandant? What's-"

"Get your coat. I know where Carter is."


	11. Watching

"Here, sir?" Sodia said, standing in front of the building. "Are you sure?"

"No," Flynn admitted. "But it's worth a shot." They stood between the white stone gate and looked at the partially-completed house on Madison Avenue. Construction had stopped once it started snowing, so it sat deserted. Just to Flynn's right was the pillar Zagi had ambushed them from a week and a half ago. The street number was still broken, the six upside-down so that it looked like nineteen. That didn't change the address, though. This was number sixteen Madison Avenue, and it was worth a shot to explore it.

"Are we allowed to be here, sir?" Sodia asked as Flynn led her away from the front door and to a tarp covering an unfinished wall. "I mean, do you think we should alert the property owner that we're trespassing?"

"Technically speaking, we probably should." He pushed the canvas sheet aside and led her into a parlour. There was no furniture and the walls were rough wood, but the floor was relatively finished and Flynn felt guilty trekking snow onto it. "However, any delay could mean the difference between life and death for Lord Carter, so we have no time to waste." And honestly, who was going to arrest them? Flynn wasn't above the law, but the only way for him to get arrested was if the Council came together to order it and he hardly thought they'd bother for something as mild as trespassing.

Through a door at the back of the parlour, Flynn walked into a long hallway. The house was freezing, but at least it offered relief from the wind. "I have no idea where in here Carter might be."

"You came here because of clues the killer left you." She opened a door and found a dining room, and they entered to explore. "Perhaps there's another clue in the things he said that would specify?"

Flynn tried to remember things the killer had said. He ran the words through his head, which made his stomach churn and chest ache. Bringing up memories of his time in the basement was still painful. "I'm not sure. He didn't really say anything about locations in a house. But maybe… I'm pretty sure I was in a basement. Maybe the basement of this house?"

They'd searched every wall of the dining room and found nothing, so Sodia nodded and they hurried out to find stairs down. As they went, another thought occurred to Flynn, and that was the fear that the basement in this house could very well be the same basement he'd been imprisoned in. He had a feeling he'd know even though he hadn't actually seen it.

On the way to the basement, they checked the kitchen just in case. This took longer because they searched every cupboard for any hint or clue, but found nothing. Flynn was on edge from the prospect of maybe finding the basement he'd been in, but if Sodia noticed, she didn't mention it. Flynn appreciated that about Sodia; she could always tell when he didn't want to talk about something.

They found a door leading down, and Flynn led the way down the concrete steps. At the foot of the stairs was a heavy wooden door, and through it he found a dark room that smelled of wine. "A wine cellar," he said, stepping in and letting Sodia see. "This isn't where I was." He would have remembered the smell of wine, and the layout was different. The room he'd been in had a metal door, and there was a hallway outside that Madison's body had been dragged along. He was both relieved and disappointed to not have found the killer's lair. They searched it just in case, but found nothing.

"We'll keep looking."

"Of course, sir."

They searched the entire first floor, and Flynn was beginning to lose hope when they still didn't find any sign of Carter. Every time they entered a room and found it missing walls, the cold took them by surprise. They found lots of signs of construction, but nothing of a missing noble. He'd been so sure this was the place, but they weren't finding anything. What other meaning could sixteen Madison have? Could the girl's name really be a coincidence?

"There's still the second floor, sir," Sodia said, noticing his frustration.

He nodded and they walked to the main staircase in the entry. The construction appeared to be limited to the first floor, so Flynn felt even more out of place trekking over the fine rugs with his wet boots. The only sign of construction up here was an unfinished wooden wall at the end of the hall. They searched all the bedrooms, hope dwindling all the while. They searched closets, wardrobes, under beds and behind bookshelves. Flynn was going to feel guilty about dragging Sodia out here if it turned out there was nothing.

After searching every room, they stood in the hall feeling defeated. "I'm sorry, Sodia," Flynn said. "It looks like I was just grasping at straws." He'd been so  _sure_  Carter was here.

Sodia was about to tell him not to worry about it, when her eyes lit up and she stared over his shoulder. "Sir, do you think it's odd that only one wall up here is under construction?"

Flynn froze, and then turned around to face the unfinished wall down the hall. "You don't think…?"

Sodia ran forward, twisted, and slammed her shoulder into the wood. It cracked down the centre, and Flynn ran to catch up to her. She slammed into it again, furthering the crack. Now she was able to reach her gloved hands into the opening and pry away a chunk of cheap wood. Flynn had only seconds to think that while they could get off for trespassing, destruction of property would be harder to get away with, but then he saw the body behind the wall.

"Is that Carter?" Sodia held the piece of wood while staring in the small space between the fake wall and the actual wallpapered wall behind it. Sitting on the ground was a man, his hands tied behind his back.

Flynn got one second to feel success at finding him before realizing Carter was very clearly dead. He sighed heavily and said, "That's him."

* * *

"Do you  _have_  to do that in here?" Rita asked. Gill's pencil scratching on his clipboard grated her ears.

He looked up from his desk. "I don't have any lab space in Zaphias so Lady Estellise said I should share with you.

Rita turned back to her test tubes and glared at them until the glass nearly melted under the intense heat. "Yes. I know." She wouldn't be annoyed with Gill being here if his work didn't involve dead bodies. Well, that was lie - she would still be annoyed with him, but maybe not  _as_  annoyed. She didn't have any personal care for Lord Carter, but his dead body lying on a table in the room while she was trying to work was distracting. She was just glad the freezing weather had kept him from decaying.

Flynn knocked on the door and then entered. "Good morning."

"Hey, Flynn," Rita said without looking up. "If you're looking for Estelle, I think she's still asleep."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to Gill. Do you have any results from Lord Carter's body?"

Gill jumped up, eager to be helpful. "Of course, Commandant! I examined his body all night and I found some interesting things."

Oh, great, 'interesting'. Rita liked interesting when it came to scientific breakthroughs, but she was quickly learning that in terms of a murder investigation, 'interesting' was the same as 'confusing and troubling'. She turned down the heat on her Bunsen burner and paid attention.

"First of all," Gill said, "the cause of death was hypothermia. I didn't find any external wounds."

"So the killer didn't stab him at all?"

Gill shook his head. "From what I can tell, he tied Carter's hands behind his back and then sealed him behind the wall to let him die from the cold. It's only a rough estimate, but based on the temperature and rate of decay, I'd say he probably died about three days ago."

"Three days?" Flynn frowned. "But Madison Rhodes was only found yesterday morning."

Gill shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just telling you what I've found. Another thing of interest is that there is no trace of ether in his system."

"That's like Repede said," Rita added. "When we were at Carter's house, he sniffed the whole property and didn't find any of it."

Flynn stared at Carter's body, deep in thought. "So he wasn't drugged. Coerced, maybe? But as far as I know, his only family is his son who is in no danger, so there couldn't have been a hostage situation. Forced at knife point?"

"There isn't any sign of a struggle." Gill approached Carter's body and lifted his hand. "On the other victims I examined, I found traces of blood and flesh under the fingernails. This indicates they fought back and tried to defend themselves. They had bruises, too, which is another indication of a struggle. On Carter, though… there's nothing. He doesn't seem to have fought back at all."

"Do you suppose Carter could be involved in this?" Flynn suggested, rubbing his chin. "Perhaps he willingly went to his death for some grand scheme?"

"I thought about that," Gill said, but then pointed to the wrist in his hand, which was circled with red marks. "Except his wrists indicate he tried to escape."

"So he didn't even try to fight back against his attacker," Rita said, "but he did try to escape afterwards. Was he ok with this or not?"

"You're right," Flynn said wearily. "This is certainly… interesting. Is there anything else you need to examine his body for? We've got in contact with his son, and he'll be here to take his father's body shortly."

Gill shook his head. "No, I've learned as much as I can from him. You can take him."

"All right, I'll have pickup of his body arranged. Good day."

Flynn left, and Rita shook his head. "That idiot's going to wear himself out." Flynn tried hard to hide it, but anyone could see he was exhausted. This case was wearing him thin, and Rita hoped they solved it soon before Estelle got really upset.

She had just started to focus on her experiment again when Gill interrupted her. "Hey… Rita? Could I… um… ask you something?"

She glanced up from the test tubes. "Make it fast."

Gill stood awkwardly near her table, cheeks pink and shifting his weight from foot to foot. "I know this isn't really the time, but I've been trying to get the courage to say this for a while and I just… It's kind of embarrassing but…"

Oh, great. Here it was. Judith and Estelle had been telling her all week that Gill had a crush on her, and now she was actually going to have to deal with it. Well, maybe once she shot him down the annoying brat would give up and go back to Halure. She thought of Estelle with frustration and realized that she was going to have to be nice because if Estelle found out she'd been rude to Gill she'd be upset with her.

"I - I have this crush and it's really dumb," Gill muttered. "But I figure I might as well ask you, right?"

Rita rolled her eyes. "Just spit it out, Gill."

"R-right," he stammered. "Well, it's just… do you think you could introduce me to Yuri?"

She was halfway through opening her mouth to tell him she didn't like him like that (or at all) when she realized what he'd actually said. "I - what?"

The pink on his cheeks intensified. "I just mean, like, you and him are really good friends so I thought maybe you could help me meet him."

" _Yuri_?"

He mumbled at the ground, "I know it's dumb, I just think he's really attractive and I haven't actually met him but he seems really nice and cool so…"

Rita couldn't help laughing. All this time she'd thought she was fighting off a kid with a crush on her, but he actually liked  _Yuri_? This was great. She couldn't wait to see Yuri's reaction to having an infatuated admirer.

"D-don't laugh!"

She remembered again what Estelle would say if she broke his heart and quickly tried to backtrack. "I'm not laughing at you. Just this whole situation."

"Ok, but, do you think you could introduce us?"

"Sorry to burst your bubble," she wasn't, "but you missed your chance. Yuri's in a relationship already."

Gill's face fell. "He - he is? With whom?"

It was such a struggle to balance her equal desires to not make Estelle upset and also enjoy Gill's emotional devastation. "Flynn," she said simply.

"Oh… great, I can't compete with  _that_."

Rita patted him on the shoulder in what she thought was a sympathetic gesture. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're Yuri's type anyway. He's not really into science."

Gill hung his head. "Yeah… figures. Well, I'm going to go. I was up all night doing the autopsy and stuff…"

He slunk out of the room, struggling to walk while carrying such a heavy heart. As soon as the door closed, Rita burst into laughter again.

* * *

Flynn had trouble sleeping that night. For the second night in a row, he stayed in his old room at the castle. Going to his house and sleeping in the room where Kat had been killed made his stomach turn. Staying in the castle was better than sleeping at home, but he still found it hard to relax. He tossed and turned, his mind unable to rest.

_Why did it take you so long to find Lord Carter?_

He'd been trying to answer that question all day. The letter in the paper had said he already had all the clues he needed to find Carter, but that wasn't right at all. He hadn't been able to figure out the significance of sixteen until Madison's body showed up and was identified. According to Gill, Carter had died days before Madison's body was dumped. How could Flynn possibly have found Carter in time when the key clue he needed hadn't been given to him until after Carter was dead? Many members of the Council, particularly those that had been buddies with Carter, had simply berated him for making excuses for his own incompetence when he tried to explain that. It wasn't fair. The killer told the entire city that Flynn was capable of solving the mystery, but then didn't actually give him the clue he needed until it was too late. Had he actually expected Flynn to figure out earlier? Should he have searched every building addressed sixteen in the entire city?

His frustration at the injustice of this, combined with the lingering doubt that maybe he  _should_  have been able to find Carter before Madison showed up, kept him awake long into the night. He finally fell into a deep sleep sometime after midnight, but he had nightmares about cats, dark rooms, and screams for help that he couldn't stop.

As a consequence, he didn't feel all that rested when he woke up the next morning. For a couple of seconds he forgot where he was and wondered why his legs hit the wall when his bed was in the middle of the room. Why was he in a twin-sized bed, anyway? He opened his eyes, saw blue instead of the reddish wallpaper in his own room, and remembered.

With a yawn, he rolled out of bed. It wasn't even six yet, but he had work to do. Lying in bed made him feel guilty when there was a killer he needed to catch. It was so early, a maid hadn't even slipped in to start the fire in his room yet, so he shivered on his way to the dresser. A water basin sat below the mirror across from his bed, and he splashed some on his face to wake himself up. It was cold enough to send a shock down his spine, effectively clearing the sleep from his eyes. He grabbed a face cloth and raised his head while wiping his face, and then tossed it aside to look in the mirror.

That was when he saw the writing. Thick letters streaked across the glass of the mirror, and by the pattern they seemed to have been drawn with a finger. They were dark red, which Flynn desperately hoped was paint. Somehow, he doubted it. What really made his skin crawl was the message itself:  _Sleep well, Flynn._

He'd been in Flynn's room. What had he been doing? Did he come in just to leave this message? Flynn had slept pretty heavily once he finally fell asleep - he hadn't done anything to Flynn, had he? Flynn shuddered and tried not to think about the killer standing over his bed and just watching. What the hell was he trying to play, and how had he gotten into the castle?

More importantly - what if he was still here? Flynn slowly turned his head to the wardrobe. Someone could easily hide in there, and then wait until morning when the guards wouldn't be as alert to people leaving the castle. He could be watching to enjoy Flynn's reaction to finding his little message. Dammit, it was too early for this.

Flynn slowly crossed his room and picked up his sword from the wall next to the wardrobe. Bracing himself to strike, he swung the door open. Movement caught his eyes and he struck before realizing it was just a broom falling over. He took a few deep breaths and looked through the rest of his wardrobe, making sure it really was empty. He'd accidentally cut one of his favourite shirts in half. He put his sword down and breathed out heavily through his nose. The killer didn't appear to still be here, but he needed to alert the knights that an intruder had managed to sneak into the castle last night. He got dressed and left the room, ready for another stressful day.

* * *

Estelle marched up to Flynn's desk with a tray.

Flynn glance up from his work and stared at her in confusion. "Lady Estellise? What is this?"

"Lunch," she announced happily, setting the tray on the desk and sitting across from him. "I made it myself. I know you've been really stressed lately, so I thought I'd join you for lunch to give you a break."

Flynn smiled, though she could tell it was forced through a heavy veil of exhaustion and stress. "That is very kind of you, Lady Estellise."

She handed him a plate, on which was a steak and cheese sandwich. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure it will be delicious." He took a bite and tried to fool her into thinking he was happy while he ate.

Estelle let her own sandwich sit on the plate. "Flynn… how are you doing?"

He frowned, swallowed, and then said, "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

She pursed her lips. "You don't have to lie to me. I know you're really upset. I'm worried about you."

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I admit, I am under a fair amount of stress at the moment."

"I hate seeing you like this. Don't listen to the Council - there was nothing you could have done to find Lord Carter earlier."

He nodded slowly, though he clearly didn't fully believe it. "I like to think so. Do you think our culprit had a reason for telling the newspaper I already had the clues other than to mess with me?"

Estelle thought about this, stalling for time by taking a drink of milk. Zagi said that their killer was working toward some higher goal, which made sense looking at how Madison was killed. According to Flynn's account, everything that was done to her was oriented around tormenting Flynn rather than her. This guy wasn't killing people out of pleasure for the act itself - he was trying to accomplish something else. That 'something else' seemed to be focused on Flynn, and he seemed to want Flynn to catch him. He certainly wasn't making it easy, though. If he really wanted to be caught, he'd leave more clues. The only thing that made sense was if his entire goal was to make Flynn miserable, and he was certainly succeeding at that. Flynn hadn't slept well since Kat died, and the constant pressure from the public and the Council to catch the Heartbreaker had already worn him raw. What she needed to figure out was why this guy was obsessed with Flynn, why he wanted to get caught, and why he was stretching this out for so long.

"To be honest… I don't think so," she finally said. "I think he's trying to bother you."

"I suppose I should treat this like a childhood bully. Don't react and wait for him to get bored."

"I don't know if that would work."

"No, probably not." He took a few more bites of sandwich, looking glum. "At least this time he focused his taunting on me rather than taking it out on someone innocent."

Estelle nodded. "That's something to be thankful for. Have the knights figured out how he got into the castle yet?"

Flynn shook his head. "No. They've combed the castle for any sign of him, but he seems to have slipped in late at night, left the message, and then left just as stealthily. I have, of course, increased the guards throughout the castle. Hopefully he won't get in again."

"Oh, I meant to tell you. Rita and Gill analyzed a sample of the blood on your mirror. Gill compared it under a microscope with some other samples he had and says it looks like rat blood."

"Rat?" Flynn wrinkled his nose slightly. "At least it isn't human." He sighed and then finished his sandwich. "Thank you, that was delicious. Anyway, I'm considering seeing if Yuri will let me stay with him tonight. It feels cowardly, but after this and Kat, I've become so paranoid about sleeping alone."

Estelle couldn't help smiling. She was still so thrilled that Flynn and Yuri had finally advanced their relationship. All she wanted was to see her boys be happy, and after nagging both of them she felt rather pleased with herself for partially making this happen. "I'm sure he won't say no. I bet he'll be really happy to have you stay with him."

"Yes, I think so, too." Flynn smiled again, but this time it was genuine. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. His expression darkened as he said, "I can't wait until all this is over. What worries me most is how everything seems to be escalating. It started with cryptic codes, but now he's leaving direct messages in my room, breaking into my house, hurting my pets, and publicly taunting me. What is he going to do next?"

A worrying thought slipped into Estelle's mind. What if Zagi was wrong? What if this guy didn't want Flynn to catch him, and he actually planned on killing Flynn? She stared at her half-eaten sandwich with dread. He was toying with Flynn like a cat to a mouse. All these carefully orchestrated murders to get Flynn agitated and scared, all building up to the climactic murder of the commandant himself. It was a very real possibility. She remembered how scared she'd been the day Flynn went missing, and couldn't even imagine how much worse she'd feel if they actually did find Flynn's body. Flynn was the commandant; it was his job to protect everybody else. Who, then, was left to protect him?

Flynn was too distracted by his thoughts to notice her drifting into her own. His fist resting on the desk clenched and his voice took on a dangerous edge. "I'm going to make him pay for all the people he's made suffer."

Estelle recalled what Yuri had said the other day about Flynn reaching his limit and suppressed a shudder. Flynn wouldn't… would he? Flynn would always stick to the law. He would never take the killer out on his own. At least, the Flynn she'd always known wouldn't. If he continued to be pushed, though, she really wasn't sure. Yuri was right - every person had their breaking point.

His face softened when he saw the worry in her eyes. "Lady Estellise? Is something wrong?"

"It's just… I was thinking about something. It's this old saying I found in a book.  _Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"_

 _"_ I've heard of that. It means something along the lines of 'who watches the watchmen?' correct?"

She nodded. "Basically. It's closer to 'who guards the guards themselves'?"

Flynn creased his brow and looked uncomfortable. "Are you worried that I'm going to… go the way of Yuri?"

She blushed, hoping she hadn't offended him. "N-no, I know you would never do that."

Flynn lowered his gaze. "To be honest… I've worried about that myself. I hate this man more than anyone - even Alexei. For all the awful things he did, it was never as intensely personal as this man is to me."

Estelle shifted in the seat and fumbled her hands together. "Well… Alexei was personal to me."

Flynn quickly looked up. "I didn't meant he wasn't terrible! I'm sorry. I do hate Alexei for what he did, both to you personally and our world. It's just… I feel personally violated by this killer in a way Alexei never touched me."

Estelle nodded. "I understand, Flynn. It's why I still hate Alexei more, even though I'm deeply troubled by what this man is doing to you."

"Part of me wants to kill him so much," Flynn said softly. "I'm so furious at him my hands shake when I think about everything he's done too hard. He deserves to die for all the people he's made cry, and all this personal violation has made a primitive part of me keen to be the one to do it. But, I can't. It is not my place to carry out judgement." He raised his head, determination in his eyes. "Who will police the police? You do have a point. There is no military person higher ranked than me. It would be so easy to hold myself above the law and do as I please. In fact, I'm ashamed to admit that I've already done so during the case. Never big things, of course. Just little things, like looking at medical records without a warrant, or trespassing. Alexei was in the same position. He was supposed to be the leader of the Knights, but with no one to guard him, he gave in to corruption."

"I know you won't do that." She leaned forward, looking into his eyes. "You will never be Alexei. I believe in you, Flynn. You'll bring this guy to justice. But… please be careful." There was another meaning to 'who guards the guards?' that Estelle was actually even more concerned about for Flynn. Who protects the protectors? Flynn was in danger and if he was so caught up in protecting everybody else, who was left to look after him?

* * *

It was snowing again. The sky had been clear when Yuri and Flynn went to dinner, but by the time they left the restaurant, heavy flakes poured onto their heads. Yuri regretted not wearing a hat.

"You brought this on yourself," Flynn said while Yuri tried to cover his ears with his hands. He had also neglected to wear gloves, so really he was trading frozen ears for frozen fingers.

"A little empathy would be nice." The snow fell in huge chunks that scattered on his dark head like stars before melting. He couldn't actually feel his nose anymore, and his fingers were going stiff.

"I told you to bring a hat."

They reached the steps to the inn and Yuri ran upstairs, eager for the relative warmth of his room. Yuri dashed into his room and then slammed the door behind him. He leaned against it and stuck his frozen hands in his armpits.

Flynn pounded on the door. "Let me in."

"Sorry, Flynn," he called back while suppressing a shiver. "If I open the door, the cold will get it."

"It's cold out here, Yuri!"

"Who should have brought a hat now?"

"I mean it, Yuri, let me in."

"Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin."

"Yuri!"

Yuri pressed against the door as Flynn tried the doorknob again. "What's the password?"

"You never told me a password!"

Yuri had managed to get feeling in his nose again, but he wasn't quite willing to risk opening the door. Cold air would get in and then he'd be cold. Also, Flynn would get in and his fun would be spoiled. "Come on, Flynn, I know you know it. I'll give you a hint: the password hasn't changed since we were ten."

There was a long pause, then: "You cannot be serious."

"Give me the password or you're sleeping on the street tonight. Hope it doesn't get any colder." Yuri almost opened the door just so he could see Flynn's expression of exasperation. He couldn't, though, or Flynn would win. He also couldn't turn to look through the round window on his door, because any weakness in his defences would give Flynn the chance to push the door open and invade.

Flynn let out an irritated groan, and then said, "You're so immature, Yuri. Fine! Yuri rules and Flynn smells. Are you happy now?"

Yuri couldn't help laughing. "With more enthusiasm."

Flynn rolled his eyes so hard Yuri could hear it through the door. "As Commandant of the Imperial Knights, I hereby proclaim that Yuri Lowell rules and I, Commandant Flynn Scifo, smell."

It would terrible to open the door now, because Yuri had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard and they might freeze. He couldn't fault Flynn's excellent delivery of the password, though, and reluctantly opened the door. He wore a huge grin when he opened it and found Flynn standing outside with a red nose and hands stuck in his pockets. He was trying hard to look angry, but the pompom on the tuque Estelle had given him made it hard to take him seriously.

Flynn shoved past him and closed the door behind him. "Have you ever had a favourite food and you love it so much but then you look at the list of ingredients and think 'why do I like this thing so much; it's awful'?"

"Can't say I have."

"That's how I feel about you."

Yuri laughed again while Flynn took off his jacket and hung it on a hook on the wall. "You're the one who asked to stay with me tonight."

Flynn paused with his hand on the hook. When he turned around, the annoyance was gone. "Yeah. Thanks, Yuri."

"Hey, it's no problem." Yuri went to his window and locked it, and then dragged his chair to the door and wedged it under the doorknob. "There. Let's see this guy try to sneak in now. Repede, if anyone tries to break in, bite them."

Repede woofed in confirmation.

Yuri kicked off his boots and fell on his bed. "Good dinner."

"I should learn the recipe for that beef stew. Maybe I can try cooking it for you."

Yuri wrinkled his nose. "No way. You'd ruin it."

"I have successfully cooked in the past, you know." Flynn sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. Repede rested his head on Flynn's lap and closed his eyes while Flynn scratched behind his ears.

"Ham and cheese sandwiches don't count." Yuri rolled onto his side and buried himself under the blanket to warm up. "Why don't you get up here? It's warmer with two people."

"Sorry. I will in a minute." He idly rubbed Repede's head with a solemn expression.

"You're not still upset about the password thing, are you?"

"No. I was just… thinking. About Kat. And other things."

Yuri nodded in understanding. He couldn't even imagine how he'd feel if Repede was killed. "You haven't found any leads, have you?"

"Nothing. This case is proving frustratingly difficult to solve. I can't tell if he wants me to catch him or not. We thought we found a lead with the ether but it came up short. I thought Carter seemed suspicious but now he's dead and also I can't even figure out how he was kidnapped. We still don't know how he got into the castle  _or_  why he's obsessed with me. The Council thinks I'm just terrible at my job for not catching him yet, and I'm actually starting to think they're right."

"Hey, don't listen to the Council. In fact, I make it my goal to always believe the opposite of whatever nobles say, so that probably means you're doing a great job."

Flynn leaned forward and pressed his face into Repede's fur. "I'm just so tired, Yuri. I can't sleep thinking about him creeping into my room at night. What if he's been doing this at other times, too, and only now chose to let me know?"

"Whoa, don't go getting paranoid." Yuri wriggled to the edge of the bed to get closer. "There's no reason to think he did that."

"He might have." Flynn raised his head so he could run his hands through his hair and take a deep breath. "If his goal is to make me miserable, he's certainly succeeding. I'm actually really worried, Yuri. I'm afraid I'm going to do something I regret. Every time he messes with me it gets harder and harder to remind myself I can't hit back."

Yuri frowned, because this was exactly what he'd been afraid Flynn was falling into. As much as he wanted Flynn to catch this guy, it would be better if someone else brought him in and Flynn never had to face him directly.

"Lady Estellise talked about this over lunch. Who guards the guards themselves? Who's watching me, when I'm at the top of the ladder?"

"Well… I am." Yuri reached out of the blankets and rested his hand on Flynn's shoulder. "That's pretty dumb to say. Just because there aren't any knights to police you doesn't mean you're home free. If you lose your way, I'll kick your ass all the way back to the proper path. Got it?"

Flynn paused, and then craned his neck to face Yuri. "You're right. That is a dumb question, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Now get up here." Flynn slipped out from under Repede and Yuri scooted over to make room for him. "Who guards the guard? I do, because I know you're there for me, too, to make sure I don't go too far."

Flynn slid next to him and pulled the blankets close. "That's right. If you ever go too far down the path of vigilantism, I'll have no choice but to arrest you."

"And if you ever go too far with your power and deter from the path of justice, I'll have no choice but to stop you."

On his side now, Flynn gazed into his eyes. "But at the same time, the other meaning of watching over applies, too. If you're ever in over your head with guild work, I'll help. And you may not like working with the knights in general, but I know that if I needed it…"

Yuri nodded once, firmly. "Yeah. Just give me a call and I'll do what I can. We'll watch each other." Right now, watching out for Flynn meant catching this killer before Flynn hit his breaking point. Yuri made a resolution that when he figured out who the Heartbreaker was, he wouldn't bring Flynn along. It would be too dangerous to let him get close to this bastard when he wavered so close to the edge of losing his resolve.

Also right now, Yuri didn't know much longer he could handle lying so close to Flynn and not do anything. He'd resigned himself to be satisfied with watching Flynn, but now that he knew Flynn reciprocated he wouldn't be happy until he could also lay his hands all over him. "Now… I've had enough talking," Yuri said with a small smile. "Tomorrow's your day off, right?"

Flynn nodded. "I've been shirking taking a break since this started, but… I really need a rest right now."

"Yeah, I totally understand. What I mean is, you have nowhere to be tomorrow, so I can keep you up all night, right?"

Flynn's breath quickened when he realized what Yuri meant. "Er - yeah. I mean, I can sleep in tomorrow, so I can stay up as late as I want, yes."

"Good." He wasted no time clearing the distance between them and planted his lips on Flynn's. Yuri straddled him, but then Flynn shoved him off and pulled the blanket tight.

"Ack, don't let the heat out!"

"This is going to make things difficult." Yuri glanced around his bed, realizing the problem. His room had no form of heater and outside the window he could still see snow falling, even heavier than before. The room was freezing, and they'd have to stay under the blanket if they had any hope of having a good time. That did give them rather a limited range of movement, though. Well, too bad. Yuri had waited for this long enough that he was willing to take the challenge.

He pulled himself sideways next to Flynn and then pulled the blanket over their heads. In the darkness under the cover, he kissed Flynn again. Cold lips turned warm and within minutes their breath and body heat had turned the blanket into a toasty cocoon. "You know," Yuri gasped in the space between kisses. "Body heat is… easier to share… without clothes."

Flynn paused, considered this for two seconds, said, "Good point," and then reached for the collar of his shirt.

"Let me." Yuri grabbed the hem of Flynn's shirt and pulled it up, and then Flynn had to wriggle around to get it over his arms without letting his hands break the seal of their heat fort. The more layers of clothing they lost, the more important it was to not let any cold air in.

With Flynn's shirt out of the way Yuri went to work on the button of Flynn's pants while Flynn tried to untie the sash around Yuri's waist. Yuri's fingers had warmed up enough by now that he managed with little trouble, but while he pulled Flynn's pants down his thighs, Flynn still hadn't gotten the sash undone.

"How does this work?" Flynn grunted.

"It's just a normal knot."

"No, it isn't. Ugh, I can't see. I need more light."

"More light means letting the heat out." While Yuri was not averse to having Flynn's arms wrapped around him, he was rather keen to move on to more intimate matters and that wasn't going to happen if Flynn never figured out how to untie his damn belt. "Hell, Flynn, what's the hold up?" He sucked his gut in and added, "Did you just make it tighter?"

"I can't get it!"

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "And people trust you to lead an army."

"Get your own damn belt off, Yuri."

Yuri laughed and batted Flynn's hands away to untie it himself while Flynn pulled his own pants the rest of the way off. He pushed the sash to the side of the bed and shrugged off his vest. Flynn worked on the buttons of his shirt while Yuri tugged his pants down until finally they were successfully naked. Well, almost.

"You didn't take your socks off," Yuri said.

"My toes are cold."

"You look ridiculous."

"Well, it's a good thing it's too dark under here to see properly, then, isn't it?"

"Whatever." They had other problems to deal with. Namely, the fact that on Yuri's narrow bed they were quickly losing space with all the clothing shoved to the side.

"We're going to have to put all this on the floor," Yuri said.

"But it's so cold."

"We'll do it fast."

They gathered all their clothes in one big bundle on the edge of the bed. "Ok," Flynn said, hands on the edge of the blanket. He sat on his knees, hunched over under the tent of blanket. "One… two… three!" He pulled the blanket up, letting in a blast of cold air. A second later, Yuri shoved their clothes over the side and Flynn slammed the blanket shut again. "You were supposed to go on three!"

"I thought it was one-two-three-go!"

"Whatever, now it's cold again."

"I can fix that." He grabbed Flynn and the tent collapsed as Flynn's head fell to the mattress.

Yuri wasn't even entirely sure what happened next, because in the darkness of the blanket cocoon, everything was a blind tangle of arms and legs. He couldn't seem to get close enough to Flynn no matter how many times he ran his hands along his shoulders or pressed himself against Flynn's chest. There was no time for talking when both their mouths were occupied with kissing. Sometimes the mouths met up, but other times they brushed over shoulders, necks, chests, or ears. With their heated breath, it almost became too hot under the blanket, but part of that might be the heat that started in Yuri's groin and spread through the rest of his body.

He kissed Flynn's neck, and then moved lower down and planted the next one on his collar bone before continuing down. He paused to trail his tongue around Flynn's nipple, and the accompanying gasp filled him with satisfaction. He had waited  _so_  long for this. He trailed kisses all the way down Flynn's stomach, while the hand resting just below Flynn's shoulder could feel his heart speeding up. Yuri curled his legs up to keep them under the blanket now that he was halfway down Flynn's body. Flynn was already erect, but it would only get better as Yuri wrapped his mouth around him.

Flynn let out a gasp and grabbed the back of Yuri's head, twining his fingers through the dark hair. "Yuri…"

Yuri couldn't quite smile because his mouth was occupied moving up and down, but his heart did a little skip at the sound of Flynn's pleasure. Knowing the person he cared about more than anybody was enjoying himself was almost as good as experiencing it himself. This was especially true after all the grief and stress Flynn was under. All Yuri wanted to do was take this one night and purge all that stress from Flynn's mind.

Flynn's hips bucked and Yuri couldn't help thinking how much better this was going to be when he was actually inside him. Then another thought occurred to him, and it wasn't nearly as pleasing as the first.

Yuri pulled back. "Flynn."

Flynn panted, too caught up in the waves of pleasure to reply coherently. "Huh?"

"Flynn, we have a problem."

Flynn took a few more breaths and Yuri heard a rustling as Flynn moved his head to look down at him. "What?"

"We don't have any lube."

"Do we need that?"

"Uh, yes." Yuri felt bad for leaving Flynn hanging so close to release, but he'd planned to start the actual sex before Flynn could anyway and this needed to be worked out before they could do that.

"What needs to be lubricated?"

"What…  _Flynn_. Do you actually not know how this works?"

Yuri couldn't make out Flynn's face in the darkness, but he could tell by the voice that he was somewhere between blushing and scowling. "It's not like I have any experience in these matters."

Yuri couldn't help chuckling. "You are  _such_  a square. Look, we need lube so it doesn't hurt going in."

"I thought natural lubrication was produced during sex?"

Yuri had to pause again to get over how hilariously innocent Flynn was. "Yes… in  _vaginas_. Which you don't have, unless there's something you've been meaning to tell me. Hell, Flynn, I didn't know you were so uninformed." He actually felt guilty. He'd been so excited to finally release almost a year of sexual frustration that he hadn't stopped to consider that Flynn was the world's most awkward virgin and might not know exactly what he was getting himself into. Yuri straightened his legs and move back to Flynn's face-level. "You  _do_  know how sex works, right?"

"Yes!"

This close, Yuri could make out the indignant frown, which then turned sheepish. "Well… I know the mechanics of sex with a woman… that is, I had the 'where do babies come from' talk when I was nine. I know that between men, it's basically the same principle except you use the, um, anus."

Yuri snorted. "Yeah, sure, the 'anus'. Thanks, gramps. Ok, look, lube is basically just an oil that you put in the hole so things go smoothly. If you don't use it, it hurts. Trouble is, that's not really something I keep stocked at all times."

"Uh oh. I don't think we can run to the store right now, either."

Yuri didn't risk letting their heat out by checking the window, but it was a safe bet it was still snowing just as heavily as before. "I really don't feel like getting dressed and walking in a snowstorm."

"So… what do we do?"

Yuri laid on his back and let the blanket suffocate his frustration. The miniature tent that probably formed over his groin was likely amusing, but he was too frustrating to appreciate that. "I don't know. I don't really have anything… I don't even have any kind of hand lotion."

"All those jars say 'for external use only' any… oh! I just realized that this is exactly what those warning labels were designed for…"

Yuri turned his head. "Huh?"

"I always thought that meant not to eat it or put it on an open wound but… those warning labels are all about sex, aren't they?"

Yuri bust out laughing again. "Yeah, I guess they are." He thought hard, which was difficult when other things were also hard and blood was being diverted from his brain. "Oh! I've got it!"

"What?" Flynn looked to him with hope.

"I've got an apple gel in the drawer."

Flynn's hope died. "Seriously? That's your plan? An apple gel?"

"Hey, it could work. If you mush them up they're pretty slippery."

"Yuri, apple gels were deliberately made sweet so children would eat them. That means there is sugar and apple juice in them. Both of those things are sticky."

"We could just  _try_  it."

Flynn's face turned cross. "I am not putting sugar and apple juice in my ass, Yuri."

"But it's the only thing we have!"

"No! I'm not putting sticky apple goo in my ass. Going without might hurt but I'd probably get fewer infections that I have no interest in explaining to a doctor."

Yuri groaned in frustration. "We  _can't_  do it without, because that would actually seriously hurt. I'll try it and you can be on top tonight."

"No. If I wouldn't do it to myself, I'd hardly let you do it."

Yuri groaned in frustration. "I don't have any other suggestions."

"Well… it looks like we're not having intercourse tonight."

Yuri tried in vain to find another option. When nothing came to him, he scowled at the blanket covering his face. "I guess not. And don't call it that – you sound like a biology textbook. We can still finish what we were doing."

"Yeah. That's nice, too. We can do the other thing some other time."

Still disappointed, Yuri scooted under the blanket to Flynn's waist-level to finish the job. There really wasn't anything wrong with not having penetrative sex, and everything else they could do would certainly be enjoyable… but he had really had his heart set on going all the way and this was turning out to be the coldest, most frustrating and disappointing sexual encounter he'd ever had.

Flynn moaned again, and Yuri smiled. Well, he supposed that with the right person, even the most disappointing sex could be pretty great.


	12. Power of the Press

"We should get breakfast."

Flynn craned his neck enough to look out the window and saw a thick layer of snow on the ledges of the building across the street. "It's too cold. Let's stay in bed." He hadn't had a day off in a long time, and intended on spending the whole day doing nothing with Yuri. Part of him felt guilty about this, because he had too many responsibilities hanging over him to take a day off. A stronger part reminded himself that if he didn't take a rest now, he'd eventually have a mental breakdown. He needed a chance to recharge.

"Come on, Flynn, I'm hungry." Yuri reached for the covers, but Flynn grabbed him and pulled him back.

"No. Don't move the blanket. It's too cold." His face was exposed to the cool air, and that was enough. He still wasn't wearing any clothes, and while it was toasty and warm with Yuri under the blanket, as soon as the cold air got in he was going to freeze.

"Wimp." Yuri returned to his back and yawned.

"I have nowhere to be today. Just let me savour this rare chance to lie in bed and do nothing."

Yuri let out a prolonged sigh. "Fine."

"I'm sorry it's such a pain for you to stay in bed with me."

"What, was last night not enough for you?"

Flynn smiled and rested his head on Yuri's shoulder. "No. Last night was very good."

"We should have done this ages ago."

"Yeah… next time, let's do it at my place."

"What, something wrong with mine?"

"My room has a fireplace."

"Oh. Yeah, that might make things easier. I'll get some actual lube, too."

"Where do you even buy that?" Flynn couldn't imagine going into a store and buying such a thing. It would be like announcing to the clerk and everyone listening that he was having sex that night, and that was the sort of thing that should be kept private.

"There's shops that have that sort of thing." Yuri elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't worry, I'll get it. I won't make you trip over yourself trying to ask for it without blushing."

"Hmph." Flynn closed his eyes and lay still. They didn't even need to talk as far as he cared. Light snow fell to the streets outside, but in the bed it was warm. There was a killer out there, Council members waiting to make his life hell, and a stack of paperwork a foot high that he had to get to, but all those things seemed to belong to a very different world. Yuri's cozy little room with its warm bed provided protection from the chill of real life, and just for today he'd let himself enjoy it.

"Hey, Flynn, be honest: have you actually never even kissed someone before?"

Flynn stiffened, annoyed that Yuri was interrupting his peaceful thoughts with something that was sure to descend into teasing again. "No, I haven't," he said simply. "I just never found the time to pursue a relationship."

"You don't have to be in a relationship to kiss someone."

"I suppose not. I don't know, Yuri, it just never happened. I was always too focused on training to actively pursue anything, and I don't enjoy hanging out in rowdy pubs where hook-ups happen. That's not even getting started on how I've never had any real interest in women and I never had an inclination to act on any attraction to a man." From the moment he joined the Knights, his number one goal had been to rise through the ranks as quickly as he could and become someone who could help the lower quarter, and the rest of the empire with it. To that end, he'd put all his effort into making himself the perfect knight, and the perfect knight didn't hook up behind the barracks with a comrade. Those sort of things weren't exactly against the rules, and there was a certain amount of understanding that in the male-dominated organization, things happened that maybe wouldn't in civilian life, but it was definitely frowned upon by the higher-ups. "What about you? Are you telling me you're some seasoned love guru?"

Yuri laughed, which reminded Flynn that even though it was frequently directed at him, he loved the way Yuri laughed. Whenever he did, it sounded like he was having so much fun and Flynn couldn't help but want to be part of it. "Not quite." Yuri slipped his arm under Flynn's neck and rested his hand on his shoulder. "I've had a few casual encounters. Enough to know the ropes, you could say. Mostly women."

"So… you usually like women? Am I just a special case, then?" Flynn wasn't sure how he felt about that. On one hand it made him feel special, but on the other he worried this was going to turn out to be an experiment for Yuri and he might ultimately decide he'd rather go back to a female partner.

Yuri shrugged. "Hey, I said  _mostly_ , not only. It doesn't really matter to me, but women who are into guys are a lot more common than men who are into guys, so I just wound up meeting more of them."

"That makes sense."

They lay quietly for a little while longer, until a prolonged rumbling erupted from Yuri's stomach. "That's it. Sorry, Flynn, as much as I enjoy lying in bed, I'm hungry. It's time for breakfast."

Flynn was starting to get hungry himself, so he relented. "Alright. Let's get our clothes carefully, though. If we go fast, we should be able to grab the stuff from last night and get dressed under the covers without having to directly confront the cold air."

"Yeah, good idea. I'll get them." Yuri popped his head under the blanket and crawled further down the bed. In one fast movement, his arms shot out and grabbed the pile of clothing. It was too cold to bother crossing the room to get fresh clothes from his dresser, and Flynn didn't have anything else here anyway. "Ok," Yuri's muffled voice came from under the blanket. "Come down here and find your stuff."

In the warm darkness of the blanket cave, they tried to get dressed. This was difficult, because they couldn't see very well and didn't have much wiggle room without lifting the blanket too high, which would let in a draft.

"That's my shirt."

"Oops, here - dammit, my pants are backward."

"Get your foot out of my face."

"Can you find my belt?"

"Out of my way."

"I think this is your - is that the door?"

Two heads popped up from under the blanket. "It's probably Judy or Karol," Yuri said. "Stay there, I'll get it."

This was practical, both because it was Yuri's house and because he was more dressed. Flynn had managed to get his pants on but still hadn't gotten the shirt on. He wasn't about to flail around with a guest at the door, so he lay still and pulled the blanket up to his chin while Yuri slipped out of bed, careful not to let any more cold air in than necessary.

He worked on the buttons of his shirt while walking to the door. Yuri actually buttoned his shirts properly during the winter, which filled Flynn with conflicted feelings. On one hand, it meant he was actually dressing like a responsible adult. On the other, he couldn't deny he got a lot of enjoyment out of Yuri constantly baring his chest.

Yuri swung the door open, and he was halfway through a greeting when he realized it was Sodia. "Oh. Hey."

Sodia eyed at Yuri's dishevelled appearance disapprovingly, and then glanced over Yuri's shoulder to see Flynn in bed. Flynn hastily tried to sit up while keeping the blanket around himself. If Sodia was here, she must be looking for him and the only reason she'd some get him on his day off was if there was a problem of some sort. "Sodia, good morning. Is there a situation?"  _Please don't let it be another murder._

Sodia shot her eyes between Yuri and Flynn with a newspaper clutched in her hand. "Sir, I… it's true, isn't it?"

"What's true?" Yuri asked. "And come inside; it's too cold to leave the door open."

She stepped in and Yuri closed the door behind her. Sodia squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. "Lady Estellise told me you were here, sir. I came to warn you that libel had been printed in the paper about you, but… it's not libel, is it? It's true."

Flynn grabbed his shirt and pulled it on hastily before jumping out of bed. The cold air hit him, but he was too concerned with the newspaper in Sodia's hand to worry about that. "Sodia, what did the newspaper say?"

She shoved it at him, not even bringing herself to look at him. Flynn pulled the paper open and stared at the headline:  _Commandant Scifo's Secret Love Affair!_

"Shit," Yuri said, leaning over his shoulder.

Flynn took a few steps back to the bed and sat on the edge. He read the article quickly, his hands shaking from fury and cold alike. According to the esteemed Angie Klapp, Flynn was guilty of hiding an illicit affair with a man from the Union, who happened to have a criminal record. She carefully stated nothing but facts, but her article asked a lot of questions, like what did this say about the commandant's judgement? Was this one more indication that his loyalties may be split and he might have more love for the Union than his own empire? How could the public trust him when he'd hidden this from them? The very fact that he'd kept the relationship secret meant he'd known it was a poor choice but he continued with it anyway - what did that say about his character? Did his unorthodox choice of a male partner mean he was some kind of deviant? Had he been focusing too much on his love life and ignoring Zaphias' pressing issues, and that was why he hadn't caught the Heartbreaker yet? Angie didn't answer any of her own questions, but the context and phrasing of the article made some heavy implications.

"How did she find out?" was all Flynn could say when he finished reading.

"It's all true then, sir?" Sodia asked, glancing hesitantly between them.

Yuri looked to Flynn to let him decide what to tell her. Flynn folded the paper and set it on the bed. "Yes, it's true." He leaned forward and stared at the ground, mind racing to figure a way out of this. "It's all technically accurate but greatly exaggerated. We've only been together for less than a week now. I chose to keep my private life private because I feared something like this would happen, but it looks like I should have gotten it over with and officially announced it in the first place." It was hard to concentrate with Sodia still standing there. Given the state of undress she'd found him in and the news she'd just learned, he could only imagine what she thought had been going on just before she knocked.

"It'll be fine," Yuri said. "Nothing you did is illegal. So some people have sticks up their asses. It's not like you're in trouble."

"Maybe not officially, but I can't see this making my job any easier. I need to go into work."

"But it's your day off."

"I know, but I need to take care of damage control."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Flynn looked to Yuri thankfully. Yuri hated dealing with politics and the Council, so Flynn appreciated the gesture. "No, thank you. I think it might be best if you stayed here."

"Yeah, all right. You take care of things at the castle, and I'm gonna talk to the others. Maybe the old man let something slip at a bar."

"Thanks, Yuri."

Flynn finished getting ready and then followed Sodia to the door. Before heading out, he paused to say goodbye to Yuri. "Sorry about today." Flynn glanced awkwardly at Sodia, not sure how he should say goodbye with her standing there.

Yuri apparently didn't share Flynn's concerns about public displays of affection. He wrapped his arm around Flynn's waist, pulled him close, and kissed him on the lips. "Thanks for last night."

He pulled back while Sodia awkwardly averted her eyes. "I'll see you later, Yuri."

They left, walking down the steps in silence. The silence continued on their way across the lower quarter, because neither of them knew what to say, or even if something should be said at all. Flynn couldn't help noticing the way people he passed shot him looks as he passed. Through the lower quarter, they were mostly sympathetic looks, but they turned more scathing once they reached the public quarter. Some people took care to not make it obvious they were staring, while others didn't bother hiding the fact that they had just been reading the paper before he walked by.

"Sir…" Sodia said hesitantly as they reached the steps, "I thought I should let you know that nothing in that article made me think any less of you."

"Oh… thank you, Sodia."

"Although, I do have to wonder if a relationship with Yuri Lowell is really the best idea. You can do what you wish with your personal life, but have you thought about what ties to the Union could mean for you politically?"

"I have thought about it," Flynn said, feet scuffing the snow. "That's precisely why I didn't want to make this relationship public." Most frustratingly, nothing Angie had done was technically illegal. She'd sworn to ruin his life after the failed ether bust, and she'd certainly made a valiant effort. He was going to find something he could nail her for, but he didn't have time to focus on that just now.

"It might help to distance yourself from Yuri Lowell as much as possible. Perhaps if you gave the impression that the relationship was purely sexual?"

Flynn jerked his head to her in alarm. "How would that help my reputation?"

"It wouldn't do much for your personal reputation, but if people thought it was purely physical it would reduce concern about you having strong ties to the Union."

He could see her reasoning, even if he didn't like it. It felt wrong to denigrate Yuri like that, though. Yuri meant so much to him, and to publicly state he was just in it for the sex felt so duplicitous, even if he could see the political reasoning. Besides, was that really the public image of himself he wanted to portray? "I'll think about it."

When they reached the castle, he and Sodia went their separate ways. His first task was to find Ioder and discuss what he wanted to do, if anything, about the scandal. What he really wanted to know was how Angie had even found out, but that was a detail to be left for later.

As he neared his office, footsteps clicked behind him and Estelle yelled, "Flynn! Flynn, there you are!" She dashed toward him, out of breath when she finally reached him. "I was hoping you'd show up soon. Sodia went to Yuri's place to look for you. You heard what happened, right?"

Flynn grimaced. "Unfortunately, yes. I dare say the whole city has read about my relationship at this point."

"I know, it's just awful. Come with me."

"Actually, I was going to speak with Emperor Iod-"

She grabbed his wrist. "You can do that later. This is important."

Estelle dragged him down the hall and through the castle until they reached the lab where Rita had been working. Hopefully bringing him here meant she and Gill had made a breakthrough on the case, because that was the only kind of news that could cheer him up today. Inside, Rita and Gill sat across from each other at a table, arms crossed and sulking.

Estelle closed the door and pushed Flynn into the middle of the room. "Rita, tell Flynn what you told me."

Rita scowled and glanced away. "Ok… but this is really Gill's fault more than mine."

Gill shrank into his chair and stared at his knees.

Flynn glanced between them worriedly. "What's going on?"

Rita sighed heavily. "It's… ok, it's kind of my fault that newspaper lady found out about you and Yuri. But it's  _mostly_ Gill's fault."

He was irritated, but he'd hold off judgement until he heard the full story. "What happened?"

"Gill asked me to introduce him to Yuri because he's got a crush on him."

Flynn glanced to Gill, who blushed heavily.

"I told him I couldn't because Yuri was already in a relationship with you."

"I see," Flynn said carefully. "And how did Ms. Klapp find out from you, Gill?"

"I'm sorry!" he wailed. "I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret! Rita didn't tell me it was a secret! The reporter just started talking to me yesterday because I'd been working on the case. I swear I didn't tell her any confidential case details. But then she asked me about you and I mentioned you were in a relationship and I didn't know I wasn't supposed to tell her with whom. I'm  _so sorry_. Please don't arrest me."

Flynn took a deep breath. "All right. I understand." It would be pointless to yell at the kid. He clearly already knew he'd messed up, and yelling at a fifteen-year-old on the brink of tears felt like a cowardly thing to do. "I'm not going to arrest you. I'm… incredibly disappointed, but you're not going to be punished."

"Th-thank you. I'm sorry."

"Yes, I heard you the first time. If you want to make it up to me, figure out who killed all these people."

"Yes! I will! I'll get right on that!"

Rita looked legitimately apologetic, which wasn't an expression Flynn was used to seeing on her. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have let that slip. I wasn't thinking."

"There's nothing you can do about it now. For now I'm going to meet with His Majesty."

Estelle followed him out into the hallway. "Rita told me what happened as soon as she saw the paper. Do you think this is going to cause a big problem?"

"I don't know. I hope not. I hope Yuri doesn't think I'm embarrassed by him."

She quickly shook her head. "I'm sure he doesn't. Yuri wouldn't worry about things like that. He knows you too well."

When they reached Ioder's study, Estelle quickly hugged him. "It'll be fine; you'll see. After all the good you've done for the empire, I'm sure no one will seriously condemn you for a little thing like this."

"I sincerely hope so." He knocked on the door, and smiled at Estelle before Ioder beckoned him in.

Ioder sat at his desk, but immediately put his pen down when Flynn entered. "Ah, Flynn. I was expecting you."

Flynn stood hesitantly in front of the desk, searching Ioder's face for emotion. Was he upset with Flynn or not? He couldn't tell. "Your Majesty, I can explain."

Ioder held out his hand. "Sit down, Flynn. We need to talk."

Flynn sat stiffly with his hands in his lap. He didn't speak, because he still wasn't sure if Ioder was disgusted with him or sympathetic.

"First of all, I need to ask if the allegations about you in the paper are true. If this reporter is making things up, you should arrest her."

Flynn couldn't quite meet Ioder's eyes and spoke to his desk instead. "Yes, Your Majesty. They're true."

"I see. Well… first of all, know that you still have my support."

Flynn raised his eyes questioningly. "Sir?"

Ioder gave him a slight smile. "Did you really think something as petty as this would change my opinion of you?"

Relief hit him so strong he actually felt his muscles un-tense. "Thank you, sir."

"You've done many great things for this empire, Flynn. Never fear that your job is at risk due to something in your personal life. Who you love has nothing to do with your ability to lead the Imperial Knights."

He couldn't stop a smile from hitting his face. "Thank you, sir."

"Unfortunately, the rest of the Council doesn't see it that way. Many of them came in this morning screaming for your blood. The main issue, I believe, is that Yuri is a high-ranking member of a prominent guild."

"I assume the fact that he's male isn't doing me any favours."

"It certainly doesn't help. The Council is upset with you, but there is very little they can actually do. They don't have the power to impeach you without my approval, and I will not give that approval. I think the best thing to do is weather it out and wait for this scandal to blow over. Continue work as normal and don't give anyone any reason to doubt your allegiance. Perhaps you should keep your distance from Yuri, just for the next few days so this has time to die down."

Flynn nodded. "That sounds like a fair suggestion. I'll ask Lady Estellise to let Yuri know I won't be making a trip to the lower quarter for a little while."

"For now, come with me to the Council chamber. We need to work this out."

"Yes, all right." It would at least be a comfort to have Ioder with him and know that at least one other person in the room still supported him.

On the way to the Council chamber, Ioder asked, "How is Yuri? I haven't spoken to him in ages."

"He's doing well. He claims his guild has been coming along nicely."

"I'm glad to hear it. It's a shame the rest of the Council doesn't know the full extent of Brave Vesperia's contributions, or else they'd realize how ridiculous these allegations are."

"Yes, I've always wished Yuri could get the credit he deserves. It's too late for that, now. He insisted I get the credit and revealing I lied about the extent of my involvement now would just be digging myself deeper."

"I agree. Here we are." Ioder entered first, and Flynn heard heated conversation cut short when they appeared in the doorway. "Greetings," Ioder said as he strode forward. "Although a meeting has not officially been set, I feel that an informal discussion with Commandant Flynn is necessary in order to clear up the mess a certain newspaper article started this morning."

"I'll say!" Lord Hallward said, leaning forward from his seat on the left. "In my opinion, this is a treasonous offense!"

Ioder took his seat at the head of the room with two long tables of nobles on either side. "Lord Hallward, I think that's exaggerating the issue."

"Not that much," Lord Reyes grumbled. "The commandant has been keeping secrets and absconding with a man from the Union."

"Who is this 'Yuri Lowell'?" another asked. "Wasn't he the one accused of kidnapping Lady Estellise last spring?"

"Yes," Flynn said from his position standing in the middle of the room. "He was cleared of all charges, however."

"So he managed to get close enough to the princess to get charges dropped," a countess said. "Clearly worming his way into the inner circles of powerful figures is a talent of his."

"Yuri Lowell has been a close friend of mine since we were children," Flynn pointed out. "That would have had to be a very long-planned scheme."

"Or he took advantage of an existing relationship," Reyes suggested. "I think I know what happened. This man seduced you to get closer to the Knights and hoped to learn state secrets. What have you already let slip to him that he'll run back to tell Harry Whitehorse?"

Flynn fisted his hands at his side. He remained standing professionally, but his irritation was making this increasingly difficult. "I have not told him any state secrets. Our relationship was founded on love, not spying."

"Isn't he the one you took to the crime scenes?" Lady Joplin asked.

Flynn frowned. "Yes… I have enlisted his help to solve this case."

Joplin glance to the woman next to her and raised her eyebrows. When she looked back, she said, "I can think of two implications from this. The first is that this is clear evidence that you're making exceptions for this man. You've given him access to confidential information you haven't made public to imperial citizens. Secondly, I think you invited him along due to your… unnatural attraction, and lustful distraction is why you've made so little progress."

Flynn's cheeks heated up. "That is not true at all."

Duke Graves waved his hand. "Who cares if this Yuri Lowell is a man or not? I don't see what gender has to do with a relationship. He could be screwing his donkey for all I care. The problem is bringing an outsider into an imperial issue. Solving a murder case may not be a matter of imperial security, but it could very well be the first step on a slippery slope. What happens if hostilities open up between us and the Union once again? Whose side will he be on? Will he still give his lover access to confidential information?"

Flynn wasn't sure how to take the donkey comment, but he moved forward to address the meat of the issue. "Of course I wouldn't. I know how to keep my private and professional life separate. With this case, I thought it would be appropriate to seek his assistance."

"It clearly hasn't worked out for you," Hallward said. "It shows a complete lack of judgement. This whole case has been a disaster. You let poor Ernest die and refused to divulge the extent of clues you were given, you've allowed six other civilians to be murdered, you even let yourself get captured, and yet you  _still_  don't have an identification of the killer or even an idea of where you were held. To top it all off, we now find that you've been distracted this whole time with a secret romance you deliberately hid from the Council,  _and_ that your choice of a good romantic partner for the Commandant of the Imperial Knights is a  _man_  from the  _Union_."

"Lord Hallward is right," Reyes said. "This case has been nothing but a string of incompetence and poor judgement from you, Scifo. I move that we remove him from office."

"Pardon? You can't do that." Flynn looked to Ioder in alarm. Could they?

Shouts erupted as Council members all tried to voice their opinions. To Flynn's frustration, most of them sounded supportive of Reyes' suggestion. It couldn't possibly end like this, could it? After working so hard to reach this position, he couldn't possibly get discharged now. He was only twenty-two - he wasn't nearly ready for his career to end, and especially not over something so stupid!

Ioder held his hand to quell the shouting. "I may remind the Council that the appointment or discharge of the commandant remains the power of the emperor."

"Your Majesty, surely you can see reason," Graves said. "I have nothing against Scifo as a person, but the way he's dealt with this case and this ill-advised romance has destroyed any amount of trust I might have in him."

"I believe Flynn has done the best that he can, and that choosing to keep his private life private is no reason to doubt his integrity."

"All right, fine," Joplin said. "Impeaching him may be too extreme, but I would at least like to remove him from this case. We may not be able to strip you of your title, but I will rest easier at night knowing someone else is in charge of capturing this murderer."

"You can't," Flynn said, looking to her in alarm. "This is a Knight issue, and as head of the Knights, it's under my control. Besides, the culprit has made it very clear I'm personally involved in this."

Graves shrugged. "Personally, I think that's an even bigger reason to take you off the case. You're too involved to be impartial. You're as much a victim as you are an investigator, so I agree that it would be for the best if we hand this case over to someone else and let you focus on other matters."

Flynn could barely believe this was happening. "Who will you put in charge in my stead?"

"What about Detective Trout?" Hallward suggested. "He's been clamouring to get a shot at this since it began. Since Flynn failed, why not give him a chance?"

" _Trout_?" Flynn had at least hoped his replacement would be someone he could respect! "He's not even a knight. He was discharged!"

"Yes, and that means he won't continue taking orders from you and letting you run this case behind his name," Reyes said. "But he does have Knight experience so he knows what he's doing. I think that's a perfect idea."

"I call a vote," Reyes said. "All in favour of removing Commandant Scifo from this case and placing Jasper Trout in charge?"

Flynn glanced around the room, appalled at the number of hands raised. There were a few who didn't and gave him sympathetic eyes, but it was abundantly clear that the dissenters were in the majority. He turned his gaze to Ioder, hoping there was something he could do. Ioder just gave him an apologetic look and minutely shook his head.

When the hands lowered, Ioder sighed and stood up. "Very well. The Council has reached a decision. I'm sorry, Flynn, but you're officially off the case. Someone will come by your office later to pick up all pertinent files and deliver them to Trout. For the duration of this case, he'll be given minimal control over Leblanc's unit, but only for matter pertaining to this case."

Flynn determinedly maintained his composure even though he felt close to punching someone in the face. "I understand."

* * *

After Flynn left, Yuri ate breakfast at the inn. He ate sunny-side-up eggs and tossed sausage links to Repede while sitting in the back corner, watching the day's customers come and go. He'd gotten breakfast from the inn's kitchen for free in exchange for doing all the shovelling around the building, which was a pretty good deal as far as he was concerned.

As he ate, lots of people glanced his way and he wondered just how widely read that newspaper was. One elderly woman turned her nose up and pointedly looked away, while a young man he was friends with gave him a grin and a thumbs-up. It was rather exciting to have his love life plastered in the paper, though he'd probably get annoyed pretty quickly. He just felt grateful that he was in a position to blow off anyone who disapproved, while Flynn had to deal with them directly. He'd kick himself if Flynn got in serious trouble for this. He'd known this was a bad idea; why did he let himself go along with it?

"What do you think, Repede?" He cut a sausage in half and took one half for himself while handing the other to Repede.

Repede ate quickly and then growled and rested his head on Yuri's knee.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't want to let my life be dictated by some stuffy nobles. But if this puts Flynn's career in jeopardy, maybe we should call it off."

Repede growled again.

"I'm not caving to the Council's wishes. It's being practical. Like it or not, they do have the power to make Flynn's life hell."

Repede pulled his head away and tossed it back, which Yuri took as a shrug of his shoulders.

"Hoping they get over it might be too optimistic. I don't know; I'll talk to Flynn about it."

Repede moved again, but this time it was to lean onto the table and snatch the last sausage for himself.

"Hey! I was going to split that."

Repede ignored him and gobbled it down.

"Pig."

Repede shot him a look and growled, his lips curling to reveal his fangs.

Yuri instinctively scooted back. Over four years of companionship assured him Repede would never harm him, there were certain primitive instincts that primate-based beings had when confronted by wolf-based beings snarling at them. "Ok, ok, eat your damn sausage. Save some for me next time, ok? You're gonna get chubby."

Repede barked in disdain, and Yuri got up to take his plate back to the kitchen and wash it. That done, he headed to the communal washroom to take a shower. Repede curled up in the hallway outside the door while Yuri stood under the warm water in one of the shower stalls. He'd always taken fast showers, because wasting warm water would be a shitty way to repay the innkeeper for letting him stay here. Showers always lasted just a bit longer in winter, though, because it took strong willpower to turn the water off.

Right now, he was perfectly comfortable. The warm water ran down his head and covered his body, and the whole stall was filled with comfortable steam. As soon as he turned the water off, the warmth would disappear and he'd be left wet and naked in a quickly cooling room. It would be a race to get dried off and dressed before the cement floor lost all its heat from the water. He didn't usually win this race.

The washroom door opened, and Yuri reluctantly turned the water off. He didn't want someone in the stall next to him wondering why he was just standing there using all the hot water. Seconds after the water disappeared, Yuri grabbed his towel and draped it around his shoulders. He stood in the narrow aisle outside the stall, rubbing his face and chest as quickly as he could. Hurry, hurry, dry off before it gets too cold! Already goosebumps rose across his limbs as cool air hit his wet body. This was the only time he regretted the length of his hair, because it took forever to dry and sent rivulets of water streaming down his back.

Something shoved him and his forehead cracked against the cement wall of the shower stall. With his head still spinning, someone pushed him to the ground. He landed hard, banging his elbow.

"Hey, what-"

The other person slammed his knee into Yuri's back, and his hand gripped Yuri's hair. Yuri sparked to action and jolted up, trying to throw the guy off. He didn't let the fact that the closest thing he had to clothing was a thin towel covering his back slow him down and jerked his arms back to try to elbow his attacker in the ribs. He almost managed to throw him off, and then the guy shoved a damp rag over his face.

Dizziness hit him with the first breath, and he renewed his struggling. Dammit, if he only had his sword! Or anything other than just a towel, really. He tried to hold his breath but thrashing around to throw the guy off him used up strength and he sucked in air before he could stop himself. His vision went fuzzy. Yuri slammed his elbow back and hit the guy in the ribs. This gave him the chance to twist onto his back and throw a punch, smacking his attacking in the gut. He made out a vague male form looming over him but his head spun and his vision was too blurred to make out any details.

He threw another punch but missed this time and the cloth came down over his face again. The man straddled him, pinning him to the ground. Every breath sent his mind deeper into fuzziness. His fighting became weaker but he wasn't giving up yet. The man used both hands to hold the cloth securely over Yuri's face, and Yuri grabbed at his wrists with clumsy hands. He missed on the first few tries, because it looked like there were four blurry wrists and he couldn't control his arms with much precision anyway.

The door to the washroom slammed open. Repede barked as he charged forward and pounced. He tackled the man, give Yuri the chance to finally shove him off and get some fresh air. Yuri rested on his hands and knees, gasping for breath while the world spun in circles. Repede snarled and barked, and Yuri planned to get up and help him fight as soon as he could do so without falling over again. He heard footsteps running off and then the washroom door slammed again. Repede barked and clawed at the door, but couldn't pull it open himself. With a frustrated growled, he trotted back to Yuri.

"Thanks, Repede," Yuri mumbled when Repede nudged his side. "I'm all right." His voice sounded distant, like he was speaking from the end of a tunnel.

Repede growled and glanced to the door again.

"Crap, you're right. Karol and Judy." He didn't know if this guy was going to go after them, too, but he wouldn't be able to rest until he made they were ok.

Yuri pushed himself to his feet, clutching the wall for stability. Everything was fuzzy and spinning and fought the urge the throw up. He took a few hurried steps forward, but then Repede barked again and stepped in front of him.

"What? Oh… yeah, maybe clothes would be good."

He threw his clothes on in seconds and then staggered out of the inn. He banged his elbow on the doorway and then slammed his shoulder against the wall in the hallway, but kept going. This was worse than being drunk. When he was outside and ran up the steps, Repede kept nudging him toward the wall to keep him from falling over the edge.

His fist banged on the door. "Hey! Karol! Judy! You there?!"

He leaned forward so much that when the door finally opened, he toppled into Judy's arms. "You ok?" he asked them.

Judy raised an eyebrow as she looked down at him slumped against her. "Are you sure you're the one who needs to be asking that?"

"Yuri?" Karol said. "What happened? Are you all right?"

Judy dragged him across the room to one of the twin beds against the wall. "Sit down. Are you drunk?"

He shook his head, which threw off his minimal balance and he fell to his side. "Ugh. No."

"Why is your shirt on backward?" Karol asked.

Yuri glanced down at himself. "Oh." His blurry vision gradually began to fade. "I needed to make sure you guys were ok. I got attacked by the Heartbreaker while getting out of the shower."

Karol gasped. "What?! He was here? Oh my gosh, are you ok?"

Yuri nodded and struggled back into an upright position. "Yeah. Repede saved my ass." He leaned on his elbows and rested his throbbing head in his hands. "Give me a bit to clear my head. He tried to knock me out with ether."

"We're fine," Judith said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. "He doesn't seem interested in us."

"Why would he attack you?" Karol said, hovering by the bed nervously. "I thought he was after Flynn?"

"I think that newspaper article is doing even more damage than we expected." Judith glanced over to the paper sitting on the table. Yuri didn't have to ask if they'd already read it. "This person killed Flynn's cat to toy with him. Now that he knows Flynn is romantically involved with Yuri, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to hurt Yuri to get to Flynn."

"Lucky me," Yuri mumbled with his eyes closed. Everything spun too much when they were open. "Ugh… Karol, don't do drugs."

"Uh, ok, Yuri."

Repede barked, and Karol approached him. "What is it, Repede? What's that in your mouth? Hey… this is fabric. Is this from the attacker?"

He woofed to confirm.

"Yuri, Repede got a scrap of fabric from the guy's shirt or pants. I don't know if this will really help, but we should show it to Flynn. Maybe it can be an important clue."

"We should alert Flynn anyway," Judith said. "He'll want to know that Yuri is being targeted."

"Later." Yuri cracked his eyes open. "He's dealing with political crap now. We'll head up later today when my head clears and talk to him."

Judith stood up, grabbed his legs, and swung them onto the bed so he was lying properly. "All right. You stay here and sleep this off."

He was too tired to even agree.


	13. What's in a Name

Estelle knocked on Yuri's door, but when he didn't answer after five minutes she grew concerned. She knocked on Judith and Karol's door instead, and when Judith answered, she asked, "Do you know where Yuri is?"

"Don't worry, he's sleeping here." She opened the door wider and Estelle saw Yuri on Judith's bed.

"Why is he over here?" she asked on her way inside.

Yuri stirred when he heard her voice. "'Stelle? That you?"

"Yuri, are you ok?" She hurried to his side. He cracked his eyes open and pushed the blanket off. His shirt was on backward and there was a large lump on his forehead. "Did you hit your head?"

He pushed himself up and put one hand to his head. "Yeah. Not too serious, though. Didn't pass out, I mean. Well, I guess I  _did_  pass out, but that was from getting drugged, not hitting my head."

"You got drugged!? Hold on, let me heal your head."

After casting First Aid and healing the swelling, Yuri looked a lot better. "Thanks. Anyway, yeah, our good friend Mr. Heartbreaker paid me a visit and tried to knock me out."

She gasped. "Oh, no! You're ok, right?!"

"He's fine," Karol said. "He came running up here right after to make sure we were ok and then laid down to sleep off the ether."

Estelle couldn't stop herself from grabbing Yuri and hugging him tightly. "I'm so glad you're ok."

Yuri stiffened slightly at the surprise hug, and then relaxed and gently patted her back. "Hey, I'm all right. See? No harm done."

She just squeezed him tighter, because now both of her boys had nearly been killed by the same person and she didn't know how much more stress she could take. It infuriated her that a single person could ruin everything like this, but the situation was spiralling out of control and she couldn't bear to watch the people she loved the most suffer any longer.

Yuri squirmed to get out of her embrace, which was lasting even longer than her usual bear hugs. She relented and let him go, but then she grabbed his shirt and tugged it down his arms. The buttons that belonged at the front were open down his back.

"Hey, stop trying to undress me." He tried to pull away, but Estelle pulled his shirt all the way off.

"You look silly, Yuri. Put your shirt on properly."

"Stop being a such a mother hen, geeze." He sulked while Estelle turned the shirt around and then started doing the buttons for him, but he couldn't hide the tiny smile on his face that betrayed how much he appreciated having something who'd fuss over him.

"I can button it myself, thanks." He pulled away and did the rest of the buttons himself. "So how's Flynn? Did things go ok at the castle?"

Estelle frowned. "He's… ok. The Council is upset, but he hasn't been discharged or anything. Ioder still has his back. The big problem is that they've taken him off the Heartbreaker case and handed it to Trout."

"Trout?" Judith said. "That ridiculous detective?"

Estelle nodded. "Yes. Flynn's at home now taking the rest of his day off, but all authority on this case is now in Trout's control. Yuri, we should probably report what happened to Trout. If this killer is after you, he'll need to know."

Yuri scowled. "I don't want to bring that asshole into this, but you're probably right. It's part of the case, now. Great. I think I'll head up and see Flynn."

"Um, actually…" she hated having to be the bearer of bad news. "Flynn said it would be best if you didn't see each other for a few days. Just until this has time to settle down."

Yuri shrugged and nodded. "Oh, yeah, that's probably a good idea, actually."

Oh good, she'd been worried Yuri would be upset and refuse to stay away. "So you're not upset? Flynn wanted me to stress to you that this has nothing to do with you and he's upset about it, too."

Yuri waved his hand. "I'm not that emotionally fragile. It's fine."

"Ok, good. I should go let Flynn know about this attack, though. I'll report it to Trout, too. I don't suppose you got a look at his face?"

Yuri shook his head. "Nah. I saw him, but I'd inhaled enough ether by then that it was too blurry to make out any details."

"That's too bad."

"Oh, Estelle, we do have this." Karol handed her a scrap of fabric. "Repede tore it off the attacker."

Estelle ran her fingers over the navy scrap. It was thick and soft, and she held it up to her eyes to examine the frayed threads. "This looks high quality."

"I thought so, too," Judith said. "Doesn't look like ragged scraps of clothing. Whoever this guy is, he's well-off."

"I'll make sure I tell Trout about this, too. Ok, I'm heading back to the castle. Yuri, let me know if you need to contact Flynn. I can take a message for you." If the circumstances weren't so frustrating, it would actually be exciting. It made her feel like a secret agent from a story carrying confidential messages across enemy lines.

"Will do. Good luck dealing with Trout."

She hugged him one more time for good measure, and then dashed out. On the way back to the castle, she walked so fast the cold air burned her lungs. Yuri was so lucky Repede had been there to help him. This guy had overpowered Flynn, hadn't he? He could easily have overpowered Yuri, especially since he'd attacked when Yuri was unarmed and vulnerable after a shower. So far they were working on the assumption that he probably didn't want to kill Flynn outright, but they had no reason to believe that of Yuri. In fact, it was far more likely that he'd want to kill Yuri just to throw his corpse at Flynn's doorstep. Fear and anger swirled inside as she imagined that. She would  _not_  let that happen to Yuri.

Flynn wouldn't, either. He may be officially off the case, but once he found out Yuri had been targeted, no force in the world would keep him from getting involved. Whoever this killer was, he must be suicidal because Flynn was going to hunt him down and drag him to the noose if it took him to the end of the world.

The fast crunch of her footsteps slowed to a halt. You  _would_  have to be suicidal to taunt the commandant, wouldn't you? It would be one thing if he was killing for pleasure and enjoyed teasing Flynn as a bonus, but Zagi said the kills weren't the reason, just a means to an end. The only reason he was killing people was to antagonize Flynn, and he appeared to want to get caught. That might make sense if he hated what he was and wished he could stop killing, but that wasn't the case here. His entire motive was to cause enough death and despair that Flynn was driven to capture him. It wasn't just that he wanted to get caught - getting caught was his  _only_  reason for doing any of this. Why would someone go out of their way to make people suffer for the sole reason of getting caught an executed?

A few people passed her, because she'd stopped in the middle of the street. She got dirty looks, because the heavy snowfall form the night before meant only a thin path down the middle had been cleared and the street was even narrower than it should be. Estelle didn't have time to worry about annoying people, though, because her breath caught in her throat as a realization struck her. She'd been moving quickly before, but now she broke into a run and sprinted all the way to the castle.

She was in such a rush she didn't even stop to take her outside clothing off and dashed into the dungeon with her scarf flying. Zagi looked up from his bed and hopped to his feet when she stood in front of his cell and panted.

"Oh, so you've deigned to visit me again? I'm honoured. Now… where is Yuri Lowell and when do I get to fight him?"

She took a few more gasps for breath and then pulled her hat off. This left her hair a ruffled mess, but she didn't have time to worry about that. "He  _wants_  to die, doesn't he?"

"Who?"

"The Heartbreaker!" Who else would she want to talk to Zagi about?

His eyes lit up. "Ahhhh. Yes, I see, that all makes sense!"

"These murders, taunting Flynn, egging him on and giving him more and more reasons to hunt him… it's all an elaborate form of suicide. He wants to be caught, tried, and hanged."

"Yes, yes! What a pity, all those poor people sliced open for such an impersonal reason."

Estelle's initial excitement died when more question sprang up. "Why so many, then? Murder carries the death penalty. Just one murder would be sufficient."

"Maybe he decided to have some fun before dying."

Estelle glared at him. "You said yourself he's not killing for fun."

Zagi shrugged. "Yes, yes, not everyone has their priorities straight. I think it's all a cry for attention. He's probably basking in the spotlight. One last chance at fame before he kicks it."

"If that's the case, that means he doesn't  _want_  to die. But maybe… maybe he's already dying. He knows he's going to die, and he's upset about it, so he's decided to take death on his own terms and go out a famous murderer instead of slipping quietly into the night."

"He's got that obsession with your commandant, remember. It's like with me and Yuri - I don't want just anyone to kill me. If I had to die, I want it to be to someone worthy of cutting me down."

Estelle nodded eagerly. "He wants it to be Flynn that captures him, personally. He must have some kind of rivalry with Flynn, or just dislikes him for some reason, and now he wants Flynn to be the one to bring him in. So he's antagonizing Flynn and driving him to the brink to give Flynn the motivation to want to take care of this himself."

Zagi twitched and seemed about to jump up and down. "That's it! That's who your killer is! I can fight Yuri now, yes?"

She crossed her arms. "Not until he's in a cell down here with you.

Zagi clutched the bars in fury. "What's taking you so long!?"

"You didn't figure this out any earlier, either!"

"Just catch him. I'm getting impatient."

Estelle would appreciate Zagi's enthusiasm a lot more if he wasn't just eager to get a chance to kill Yuri again. She didn't bother saying goodbye before hurrying out.

Her rush subsided for now, she took a detour to stop at her room and put away her scarf and hat and change her wet boots to indoor shoes for walking around the castle. The whole while, her chest buzzed with excitement. Everything was falling into place. All they had to do as find someone who was well-off, had access to ether, was a smoker, had a reason to have a personal rivalry with Flynn, and was dying. Their criteria had hugely narrowed, and she was sure they could find the culprit now.

With that confidence in mind, she stopped by the office Trout had been given in the castle. When she entered, he was still setting himself up.

"Good afternoon, Princess Estellise." He paused his shuffling to stand up. "How can I help you?"

She eyed the folders on his desk, which used to be on Flynn's. She could make out Flynn's handwriting on a sheet of paper that stuck out. It irritated her that he had taken over this case that was so important to Flynn, but it was too late to argue about it now. "I thought you should know that there was an attack on Yuri Lowell today. The suspect of this case tried to abduct him this morning."

"I see. Interesting." He sunk into his seat. "You think Lowell was targeted because of his relationship to the commandant?"

"I don't think it's a coincidence that he was attacked right after Yuri's connection was made public. He wants to get to Flynn by hurting the person closest to him."

Trout nodded and folded his hands. "Yes, I think that's a reasonable guess. Is Lowell all right?"

Estelle paused, slightly taken aback by the honest concern in his question. "Um, yes. Yuri is fine. He was attacked while getting out of the shower, but his dog fought the culprit off. Oh, we got another clue from that, actually. Yuri's dog, Repede, got a snatch of his clothing. It's very fine quality. I think this means the killer is wealthy."

"That would make sense."

"Also, I was thinking about it and my guess is that he's currently dying, and that his motive is to cause enough mayhem that Flynn will personally arrest him and have him executed as a form of suicide."

"That seems like a rather extreme guess."

"It makes sense."

Trout frowned. "Hm… well, I'll keep that in mind. If he is a wealthy person, though, it might be difficult to stick charges to him. Even if we can catch him in the act, without hard proof that he committed all seven murders he might be able to talk himself into a lighter sentence."

Estelle crossed her arms. "No, because he doesn't want to get off. That's the point."

"So you think."

"I'm certain I'm right!"

"Thank you for your input, Lady Estellise. I'll keep it in mind. If you don't have anything else to add, I'd appreciate being left alone to work."

It was clear she wasn't going to get through to him, so she said, "Fine. Just… catch him soon. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"I assure you that I don't either. I'll do whatever it takes to find him and bring him to justice."

Estelle left slightly more confident in Trout than she had been before. She'd feared he was just an attention-grabbing arrogant jerk, but he did really seem to care about solving this case. Hopefully that honest desire would translate into an actual ability.

When it came to gathering information, Raven preferred seedy bars and thugs. Unfortunately, current evidence pointed to their perp being a rich bastard as opposed to a dirty one, so here he was in the royal quarter, going house to house. Information gathering among nobles was worse because it required him to play up a part of himself he'd rather have left buried in Baction. Rough, jovial Raven didn't get invited into mansions, though, so if he needed to question the nobs, it was slick and shiny Schwann who had to do the work.

He'd already been to… was it seven or eight? He couldn't remember. After an entire morning, the marble pillars all blurred together. He was just lucky he could skip most of them and focus only on those who had a record of serious medical issues. Estelle said they were looking for a dying rich person who hated Flynn. Yuri, Judith, and Karol were hard at work knocking on doors in the wealthier districts of the public quarter, but as the only sort-of-noble in the group, Raven had been left with the royal quarter.

He rang the bell at another big house. He'd never thought he would reach a point in his life where he hoped the next person he saw was a serial killer, but it would mean his job was done and he could stop interviewing all the nobles.

The person who answered the door was a little old lady with curly grey hair and a cane. Raven's hope failed, because he was ninety-eight percent sure this little old woman wasn't the Heartbreaker. Yuri had been attacked by a man, after all. He briefly entertained the idea that the kid had made that up to cover the fact that he'd been beaten up by an eighty-year-old woman, but that wasn't very likely.

"Can I help you?"

Raven had to lower his eyes to talk to her, because age had shrunken her. "Hello, young lady. Tell me… is your mother home?"

She giggled and slapped his arm. "Oh,  _you_. My name is Lady Rosemary Donner."

"Well, my dear Rosemary, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions? It's terribly important."

"Of course, sweetie! I always love company. Come in, come in. I'll have Hector fetch us some tea."

"That won't be necessary."

"Nonsense. A meeting without tea is not a meeting I want to attend."

Raven considered arguing, but figured it wasn't worth it. He reluctantly followed her inside and sat down on a floral-print loveseat in her tearoom. There were more doilies in the room than Raven had ever seen in his entire life, and the entire house was filled with a cloying perfume scent that made him want to sneeze.

There was a perfectly good armchair across the coffee table, but Rosemary decided to sit next to Raven instead. In fact, she sat uncomfortably close to him and rested her hands on his arm while she spoke. "So, what's your name, sweetie?"

"The name's Raven." He might be putting on the act of being a fancy noble, but he wasn't dragging that name out if his life depended on it.

"Raven… how pretty. Like the bird." Her hand lightly stroked his sleeve.

Raven fidgeted. "Er, just out of curiosity, is there a Lord Donner?" He had been in enough sketchy bars to know where this kind of action typically led, and met enough angry husbands to know it was better to cut his losses and run when it came to married women.

Rosemary giggled again. "No, dear. Sweet Eustace died fifteen years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's not often I have a strapping young man in my house."

"Well, it's nice to hear someone thinks I'm young." She was over twice his age. In fact, she had been a widow for longer than Karol had been alive. Raven hoped to get this interview over with quickly. "I wanted to ask about your stay in the hospital last month. I'm studying to become a doctor, and I'm trying to learn about patient experiences."

"Oh, how interesting! I'm sure you'll be wonderful dear. Well, I can tell you I was in the hospital because I broke my hip. Dreadful, dreadful. Oh, here's Hector with the tea."

A butler who seemed as old as Rosemary bustled in with a tray covered in tea and some cookies. To be polite, Raven sipped the tea and found it to be the bitterest thing in his life, in a competition against his feelings about working for Alexei. One bite of a cookie made him wonder if these, like her late husband, had also been past their expiration date by the time Karol was born. He dipped one in the tea to try to soften it, and let her ramble about her broken hip.

Twenty minutes later, he hadn't learned anything of use except that the nurses at Princess Elisabetta Hospital were apparently far too brusque and that the loss of healing artes after blastia disappeared was the worst loss she had ever experienced in her life. Raven didn't ask if she weighed that against the loss of her husband. He tried to interrupt a few times to steer the conversation to subjects he was actually interested in, but she powered through her list of grievances.

"…and they gave me medication that was supposed to help with the pain better than gels, but this medication had  _alcohol_  in it! Can you believe that? They would give a proper lady like me alcohol?"

"Horrifying." Raven stirred his tea with a small piece of wood - or maybe it was a cookie - and began to feel envious of Lord Donner for finding an escape. Yuri was going to owe him big for this one.

"The only reason I didn't turn it away entirely is that dear Ernest - oh, when I heard he was killed, I was just devastated - swore his boy used the same thing to great effect. I used to bowl with Ernest, you know. I don't know if my heart can take another loss after what happened to the poor thing…" She dabbed her eyes with a lacy handkerchief.

Raven awkwardly patted her arm. "What is this medication exactly?"

"Oh, this was called Spirit of Ether. It's a mixture of ether with alcohol, you see. Ernest always purchased ether for his son to help the pain. The poor boy has terrible pains in his lungs and coughs something dreadful. It's all those cigars, I said to Ernest, but he just waved me off and said he couldn't control his boy anymore. It's just the saddest thing."

Raven's bored-to-tears brain sprang to life as gears cranked into motion. "His son is a frequent smoker who's dying and frequently uses ether, you say?"

"Yes, sweet little Timothy. Oh, I suppose he isn't little anymore. They're all little to me," she giggled. "I remember when he was in diapers and Ernest would take him down to the catacombs to play. I suppose he must be your age by now."

"Interesting…"

"But never mind Timothy. I was in the middle of telling you how awful the follow-up medication I was given was…"

Raven managed to escape from Lady Rosemary's house after about an hour of prattling. He counted it a victory, because he'd managed to escape without a marriage proposal and no lost teeth from the cookies. Of course, there were more pressing victories to think about from his little talk. He'd force himself to finish talking to the rest of the nobles who had some kind of medical issue recently, but he wasn't expecting to find anything more compelling than what he already had.

* * *

Flynn had to meet with the headmaster of the Imperial Knight Academy in fifteen minutes, but he'd finished his other work early to give him time for this unofficial meeting with Estelle and Raven. When Estelle and Raven slipped in, Flynn cautiously locked his office door to keep out surprise visitors, just in case. He didn't know what the Council would do if they found out he was still involving himself in this case, but it would be nothing good.

The past two days had been nothing but frustration for Flynn. It was hard to concentrate on all his other work when he couldn't stop wondering how Trout was handling this case. He'd tried to ask Leblanc for information, but he'd apologized and said he wasn't allowed to share those details with Flynn. As far as Flynn knew, Trout had knights out knocking on doors through the upper-class areas of the public quarter to ask for alibis or knowledge and if anything recognized the scrap of clothing. Flynn didn't expect much from that line, because the navy blue fabric was fairly nondescript. He refused to seriously consider Estelle's suggestion that their culprit was dying, claiming they had no real evidence to base this on.

Flynn would actually be pleased with how little Trout had accomplished just to stick it to the Council, but that would be petty and he wanted this killer caught as much as everyone else. He was especially keen to catch him now that he knew Yuri was in danger. He felt so useless sitting around at home or at the castle while Yuri was in the lower quarter. Every inch of him jumped to head down there and be with him, just to keep him in eyesight and be sure he hadn't been attacked again, but they were keeping their distance until the talk and rumours after the newspaper article blew over.

Raven and Estelle sat across from his desk. Estelle glanced around conspiratorially and scooted closer.

"Mr. Raven," Flynn consciously reminded himself not to say 'Schwann', "have you found anything?"

Raven grinned. "Actually, yes. I hope you appreciate this, because ol' Raven just spent two days schmoozin' with nobility ta get this info."

"I'm certain anything you have to tell us will be useful."

"Ok, so here's the scoop: I talked ta Lady Rosemary up on Dawson Boulevard. Old bat nattered 'bout her hip for almost an hour, but it turns out she goes bowlin' with the late Lord Carter. She happened ta mention his son is dyin', which I thought might be intriguing."

Estelle put her hand to her mouth. "His son is dying?"

"That's right." Flynn stared at Raven, kicking himself for forgetting. "He mentioned that to me when I went to talk to him. His son, Timothy Carter, had been treated at the hospital for some terminal illness and…" he was stupid. He was so  _stupid_. How had he not put this together before?

Estelle turned to him. "What is it, Flynn?"

"And his father gave him all the ether he purchased. He claimed it was treatment for his illness, but after verifying he really did have an illness I never confirmed that his son was  _actually_  using it as prescribed."

"I was thinkin' that." Raven leaned forward, resting his elbows on Flynn's desk. "And there was that thing with Carter's weird injuries, right? No sign of struggle? Well, what kind of person doesn't attack the guy abductin' him?"

Estelle gaped at him. "A parent."

"Mr. Raven, do you know where Timothy Carter is now?"

Raven shook his head. "Nah. On a hunch I checked his house after talkin' to Rosemary, but he wasn't home. Peeked in the windows, and doesn't look like he's been home in ages."

Flynn took a few deep breaths to process this. "It's him. It's got to be him."

"But why is he obsessed with you?" Estelle asked, glancing between Flynn and Raven to see if they had the answer.

"I don't know," Flynn said. "I admit his name sounds familiar, but I can't recall where I might have met him."

"What do we do?" Estelle asked. "You can't send knights after him without letting the Council know you were secretly working on this case."

"I'll talk ta Trout," Raven said. "He'll listen ta me - I double checked and before he got discharged he was in the Schwann Brigade. I'll tell him I have it on good authority that Carter, Jr. is our perp."

"Now all we have to do is find Carter." Flynn frowned and added, "I feel like we've been here before. Hopefully this Carter won't be so difficult to track down."

"I'll ask around," Raven said. "Maybe someone's seen him."

"I'll tell Yuri and the others. Flynn, do you want me to bring a message to Yuri for you?"

Flynn thought for a moment, and then said, "Tell him to meet me at my house tonight around seven, after it gets dark." This was a purely selfish request, but he hadn't seen Yuri in two days and he wanted to share his elation at identifying Timothy Carter with him.

"Ok, I'll tell him."

"Thanks. And thank you, too, Mr. Raven. Your information was incredibly helpful."

"Just doin' my part."

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have another meeting to get to." He stood and grabbed the folder for the other meeting. "I'm afraid I need to dash."

"That's ok. I'll send Yuri your way tonight."

"Thank you very much, Lady Estellise." Flynn glanced at the clock on his way out of the office and quickened his pace. He couldn't be too worried about being a minute late for this meeting, though. He was in too good a mood. At long last, they finally had a name. They'd get pictures of this Timothy Carter and plaster his face all over Zaphias. There was no way he could evade the knights for long.

* * *

Yuri walked home that evening in a good mood. He took great delight in stomping on thick chunks of snow, imagining they were Timothy Carter's face. Estelle had brought him the news earlier today that they finally had a suspect, and this was a cause for celebration. He kicked a chunk of snow and grinned as it smacked into a wall and left a splotch on the rough bricks. After Carter had tried to drug him a couple of days ago, Yuri was more eager than ever to see his ass behind bars. He hoped Flynn let him throw at least one solid punch to the face as payback after he was arrested.

There were other reasons to be in a good mood. Namely, the invitation to Flynn's house tonight. They hadn't seen each other since Flynn had to rush out following the scathing article, and the pressure he'd been hoping to release the night before had only grown stronger in the ensuing days. It had been so frustrating that after months of convincing himself he'd never have Flynn as more than a friend, when he finally got his hands all over him, circumstances kept them apart. If he was more the literary type, he could write a book on all the things he wanted to do with and to Flynn, and all of them would make Estelle flush. The little glass bottle in his pocket rubbed against his thigh and his smile grew. They weren't going to get caught unprepared tonight. It might be a bit early to celebrate Carter's capture, but they could celebrate his identification with a long-awaited night of passion. They wouldn't even have to do it huddled under a blanket this time.

Yuri couldn't help smiling as he strolled across the fountain square. Food ran through his head as he planned the meal he was going to cook for Flynn when he got there. He wanted to go over right now, since it was already getting dark, but night came so much earlier at this time of year so Flynn probably wasn't even home from work yet. His smile faded as he approached the inn, because there was a man leaning against the wall by the steps with his arms crossed. Yuri wasn't sure what he was doing here, but he had no interest in talking to Jasper Trout.

Yuri stopped short. "Hey. You got a reason for being here?"

Trout looked up with a smile. "Ah, Yuri Lowell. I was waiting for you."

* * *

At seven, Flynn changed into comfortable clothes and tidied up a bit. There wasn't a point in tidying up for Yuri because Flynn's idea of "too messy; I literally can't live here any longer" was about equal to Yuri's level of "hey, look, I actually picked up after myself". Still, tidying before one's romantic partner came over seemed like the proper thing to do.

He sat on the couch and waited for the door to knock. Maybe it was silly to wait so excitedly, but his spine tingled and butterflies filled his stomach at the thought of what he and Yuri might do tonight. Yuri had promised to pick up the proper equipment for actual intercourse the next time they got together. Flynn didn't even know what to expect and almost wished he'd experimented with others the way Yuri had just so he wouldn't feel like such a novice compared to Yuri. It was so obvious he didn't know what he was doing, and if he wasn't swamped with work he would have considered borrowing some of Estelle's romance novels to learn a few tricks. It was ridiculous. He could charge fearlessly into battle, but charging into bed with the man he loved made his knees weak and his heart race. He couldn't wait for Yuri to arrive.

At eight, Yuri had not shown up yet. Yuri was good at slouching in fashionably late, but this was ridiculous. Estelle told him she had delivered his invitation and Yuri seemed excited about coming, so what was the hold up? Yuri had better have a damn good explanation for being so late. He crossed his arms and sunk deeper into the couch.

At nine, Flynn sulked to the kitchen to make a ham and cheese sandwich. He'd wanted to wait and have dinner with Yuri, but his hunger had overpowered his patience. He usually liked ham and cheese sandwiches, but eating one alone in his kitchen when he wanted to be with Yuri was a depressing experience.

At ten, Flynn began to suspect that Yuri wasn't coming at all. Yuri wouldn't do this to him… would he? No, Yuri always stuck to his commitments. What if something had happened to him? Or what if he'd decided he should just leave before his presence caused Flynn any more problems with the Council?

At seven the next morning, Flynn woke up on the couch and realized he'd fallen asleep waiting for Yuri. He leapt to his feet and looked around. His clothes were dishevelled and his hair messier than usual, but overall, sleeping on the couch didn't seem to have caused him much damage. Then he glanced at the clock again and muttered, "Crap. Late for work." This wasn't going to help his image with the Council. Better get moving.

He sprinted upstairs and changed into his uniform. There wasn't time to comb his hair, not that it would do much anyway, so he ran his fingers through it on his way out the door. He had never walked to the castle so fast. All the way there, though, his mind was consumed by Yuri. Why hadn't he shown up last night? Flynn would be hurt, except he trusted Yuri and knew that he wouldn't have ditched him unless something important had come up. Yuri could take care of himself, but he also knew that there was a serial killer in town targeting him, and he didn't think he'd be able to rest easy until he saw Yuri with his own eyes

Inside the castle, he flew down the corridors to his office. It was seven-thirty now, and his first meeting was in ten minutes. He had planned to spend the morning preparing because he didn't do it last night, but he was out of time now. Dammit, why hadn't Yuri shown up?! He wanted to worry, but for now he had to meet with the captains. Swearing he'd deal with Yuri when he was out, Flynn ran to his meeting.


	14. Missing in Action

"This is why I prefer lab work," Rita grumbled, burying her face further into her scarf. "It's t-t-too cold for this."

"Come on, Rita," Estelle said, leading Rita and Karol through the royal quarter. "We're almost there."

Estelle had grown frustrated with her inability to do anything useful for this case, so she was taking matters into her own hands. Flynn wasn't allowed to work on it, but nobody said she couldn't. Trout had knights searching the city for Carter, but they hadn't turned up anything yet. "Look, we're here." She stopped in front of a small house in the royal quarter. Knights had come to Timothy Carter's house earlier today to look for him, but unsurprisingly he wasn't that easy to find. They said they'd searched the house, but Estelle didn't trust them to do a good enough job. "Ok, Karol, pick the lock for us."

Karol glanced around the street, and then nervously stepped up to the front door. "We'd better not get in trouble for this."

"It'll be fine," Rita said with a flippant hand wave. "Who's gonna arrest us for trespassing when the victim is a serial killer?"

"Besides, Flynn won't mind," Estelle pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess." Karol fiddled with the lock, hands shaking because he had to take his mittens off to work. "You should have brought Yuri. He's the one comfortable with breaking into people's homes."

"Yeah, he certainly knows how to make a first impression," Rita grumbled and the door clicked open.

"We can't." Estelle followed Karol into the house. She carefully wiped her snowy boots on the mat out of habit, but Rita barged in, apparently not caring about getting mud and snow on a murderer's carpet. "Yuri is with Flynn this morning." Flynn would be at work by now, but since Karol said Yuri hadn't come back yet she assumed he was sleeping at Flynn's house.

Karol smirked. "Yeah, we wouldn't want to interrupt Yuri and his boyfriend."

"What a jerk, making us do all the hard work while he basks in carnal pleasures."

Karol looked to Rita with a frown. "What's a 'carnal pleasure'? Is it like a normal pleasure?"

Rita and Estelle shared a look and Estelle slapped a hand over Rita's mouth just as she opened it to explain. "Never mind, Karol."

Karol looked between them, and then sighed. "It's about sex, isn't it?"

"Let's not gossip about Yuri's romantic life," Estelle said hurriedly. "It's rude. Focus on searching the house."

Rita picked up a horse figurine and turned it over in her hands. "What are we looking for?"

"Anything that might tell us where Carter is now. Let's split up and search."

Estelle left Karol and Rita to search the ground floor while she headed upstairs to search his bedroom. There was a certain clutch in his stomach as she entered the bedroom. She had no idea what she'd find, but the images of all the murdered people flitted through her head. What did a murderer's bedroom look like? When she pushed the door open, half of her expected to find bloody knives and insane writing scribbled on the walls.

What she found instead was almost alarming in how mundane it was. His bed was neatly made, the dresser was plain wood, and a simple landscape painting was the only adornment on the walls. It could be the room of any average person, and thinking that the owner of this painfully ordinary room was capable of causing so much pain and violence was unsettling. A thin layer of dust covered the top of the dresser, on which was an old ashtray that hadn't been emptied in a while. It didn't look like he'd been home for ages, which was comforting. At least he wasn't going to barge in and find them snooping around.

Inside his dresser, she found nothing but shirts and pants. There was similarly nothing in his wardrobe and nothing under his bed. Maybe Karol and Rita had found something downstairs, but it seemed to her that if she had incriminating evidence she'd keep it close, in her private bedroom. Running out of places to search, Estelle pulled open the drawer of his bedside table. The first thing she noticed was a paper, crumpled around the edges from wear. Curious, she pulled it out delicately. After skimming the top, she gasped. This was an arrest report!

It was very long and detailed, so Estelle skipped through the pertinent details. This had been officially administered by the Knights about two years ago. Lieutenant Timothy Carter had been apprehended outside Dahngrest and charged with multiple accounts of murder. Carter had been a knight!? She finished reading before taking time to process that surprise.

According to the report, Carter had killed a handful of Union citizens and the only reason he gave was 'I was upset'. If he'd been charged, though, why wasn't he in prison? He couldn't possibly have gotten off if the Knights had apprehended him and knew for a fact he'd done it. She skimmed down to the bottom of the page, and breathed a little more quickly when she saw the signature of the arresting officer: Lieutenant Flynn Scifo.

Estelle dashed out of the room. "Rita! Karol! I found something!" She nearly tripped down the stairs in her excitement.

"What is it?" Karol ran into the hall from the kitchen, while Rita poked her head out of the living. "Look, look! Did you know Carter used to be a knight?"

Karol's eyes went wide. "Whoa, really?"

The three communed in the hallway and Estelle showed them the paper. "Look, he was a knight who went rogue and killed a bunch of people. Flynn is the one who arrested him."

"That looks like a good explanation for a grudge," Rita said.

"I wonder why he isn't in prison."

"Maybe he got off?" Estelle suggested. "It seems awful, but look what happened with Ragou. He was a noble and the victims were from the Union, so maybe they let him off?"

"Look at the paper." Rita tugged on the corner. "It looks pretty worn."

Estelle stared at the crumpled edges and nodded. She could easily imagine Carter, sitting on the edge of his bed and gripping this paper tightly, wearing it out through constant use. Crushing the paper and bristling with anger the longer he stared at it, eyes locked on that signature at the bottom. "We need to tell Flynn. Well, actually I suppose we need to tell Trout. Whoever is in charge of this case needs to know, at least."

"You take it to the Castle," Karol said. "Rita and I will stop at Flynn's house to talk to Yuri and let him know what we discovered."

"Right. Let's go!"

Half an hour later, Estelle had reached the castle and made her way to Trout's office. "Hello, Mr. Trout?" she said as he entered. "Have you found anything related to Carter yet?"

Trout jumped when she entered and when he looked up it too about two seconds to wipe the guilty look off his face. "Oh! Uh, Princess Estellise, hello. N-no, sorry, I haven't found anything yet. We have some leads, but… I can't share them with you right now."

"Oh, that's ok." She hadn't expected much. If Flynn hadn't found any cracks in the case after this long, she doubted someone like Trout would have made any huge breakthroughs.

"Did you need something, Your Highness?"

"Actually, I wanted to tell you something." She slid the arrest report across the desk. "We found this. It gives us a motive for why Carter is upset with Flynn."

Trout's eyes flicked over the page. "Interesting… it also gives him a history of violence. This could be very useful. Thanks."

"As long as you use it to catch him before he can hurt anyone else."

Trout's eyes flicked away from hers. "Your Highness… I want you to be assured that I am truly dedicated to catching him. I will do whatever it takes to bring him to justice."

She tilted her head to the side, confused by his sudden discomfort. "Yes… I trust you."

"I'll put thought into this, and hopefully catch Carter very soon."

"Good luck." She left the paper with Trout, and went to find Flynn.

* * *

Flynn didn't have time to take a break until afternoon. He left his meeting and went to his office, hoping to take half an hour to eat lunch and not worry about work. He fell into his chair, rested his head in his arms, took a deep breath, and wished the world would stop for ten minutes so he could get things accomplished without new problems springing up. It certainly didn't help that since he "wasn't working on the murderer case anymore" he now had "so much more free time" to load projects on. With all his daily tasks taking up his time, he barely even had time to worry about Yuri.

Soft knocks came at the door and then Estelle poked her head in. "Hi, Flynn."

He pushed himself up. He didn't want to talk to anybody in general, but Estelle was an exception to that. "Good afternoon, Lady Estellise."

"Do you feel ok, Flynn? You look really tired."

He rubbed his eyes as she sat down. "I didn't sleep well and it's been a stressful morning. You haven't seen Yuri today, have you?"

She cocked her head. "Yuri? Isn't he at your house?"

Flynn frowned, his dread multiplying. "No… Yuri never showed up last night."

Estelle stiffened and widened her eyes. "He… he didn't? I gave him your message and Karol said Yuri went out last night around six. We assumed he was on his way."

Flynn and Estelle met each other's eyes were a long, terrifying moment. "He never arrived."

"He wasn't at the inn this morning, either."

Flynn spoke softly, admitting the terrifying truth. "I have no idea where Yuri is."

"Oh no… oh  _no_ … this is just like before when you…"

"I know." A long stream of words he'd like to use to express his frustration crossed his mind, but he wasn't going to say any of them in front of Estelle. Maybe it would be ok. Carter had let him go without serious harm, hadn't he? Except Carter wasn't interested in toying with Yuri. He was interested in antagonizing Flynn, and Flynn couldn't think of any worse mind game than to throw Yuri's butchered corpse on his doorstep. Was Yuri even still alive right now? An icy dread he hadn't felt since Zaude clutched his heart. "Yuri's tough. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"I hope so. Oh, Flynn, I'm so worried."

Flynn reached out and took her hand. "We know who the suspect is. That's a huge lead. He can't remain hidden for too much longer."  _And hopefully he won't have murdered Yuri by the time we find him_. He didn't say the last part aloud, but he could tell from Estelle's moistening eyes that she was thinking it.

"He has to be ok… he's survived so much worse than this." Estelle softly added, "Yuri always survives."

Flynn nodded and tried to look more confident than he felt. "Sure he will. All we have to do is find Carter."

"Yes… oh, Flynn, we learned something this morning. I was so excited to tell you but now it seems like hardly anything. We went to Carter's house and snooped around."

"You did what? You're not supposed to break into someone's house, murder suspect or no."

She gave him a sheepish look. "Please don't arrest me."

Flynn sighed and shook his head. He had way more things to worry about than arresting Estelle for something like this. "It's fine. What did you learn?"

"We found a record of an arrest from two years. Carter murdered several civilians outside Dahngrest, and you arrested him."

Memory sparked. "That was Carter?" He remembered the incident, but not well enough to remember the perpetrator's face or name.

"I think that's why he's upset with you."

"That would make sense. If I recall, he got discharged from the Knights for that. He likely blames me for his misfortune." Hisca had been with him when he made the arrest, but he'd had the fortune to be the one signing the arrest warrant. Maybe if she'd been the one to sign it, Carter would be focusing all his energy on tormenting her, instead. For a brief moment he wished that were the case, and then quickly decided this was better. He wouldn't wish this kind of misery on anyone, especially someone he considered a friend.

"I guess he was always upset about this, but then maybe he recently found out his condition was terminal and decided to act on his anger to get revenge on you for arresting him."

"And now he's gone and pulled Yuri into this." Angie had wanted to screw Flynn over when she published that article, but did she know just how damaging it would be? She'd wanted to smear his reputation, but now Yuri could very well be killed for it. If only there was a legal precedent he could arrest her for. If Yuri did die, he would know it was her fault but in the eyes of the law, it would be entirely circumstantial and she'd get no punishment.

"Maybe we're overthinking this," Estelle said with a glimmer of hope. "Maybe he's somewhere else and we're just jumping to conclusions."

"Yes, that could be… maybe he's with Hanks or something like that."

"Let's go find out." She jumped to her feet and Flynn quickly followed. He still had a lot of work to do and a lunch to find, but if Yuri was missing, all that could wait. This could be a matter of life and death.

They didn't talk on their way to the lower quarter. Both of them were too wrapped up in worries to have any time for idle chit-chat. Flynn wasn't sure if it was just him, but it felt so much colder today than it had been.

Flynn led the way to Hanks' house. There was a fresh layer of snow on the street outside, which meant Yuri hadn't been here at least since yesterday afternoon or else he would have shovelled for Hanks. Heart sinking further by the moment, Flynn knocked.

Hanks came to the door a minute later. "Hello, Flynn, Lady Estellise. Need something?"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanks," Flynn said. "Yuri didn't happen to come by today, did he?"

"Yuri? Nah, hasn't been here since the snow fell, irresponsible rascal. He promised to come by every time it snowed, too."

"I see."

Hanks inspected his face. "You don't think something's happened to him, do you?"

Estelle and Flynn shared a nervous glance. Estelle bit her lip and tried not to look too frightened. "We're not sure."

"He hasn't been seen since yesterday. Ordinarily I wouldn't be concerned , since it hasn't even been a full day, but given the attack four days ago…"

Hanks' expression darkened. "Ah. I always knew that boy was gonna get himself into a real pickle one of these days. I saw him last night with a man I didn't recognize. Does that help?"

Flynn's interested piqued. "When and where?"

"Last night, just after six. Saw him walking with some guy away from the fountain."

"Could you describe him?" Estelle asked excitedly.

Hanks shook his head. "Sorry. It was at a distance and he was wearing a scarf and a hat, so I couldn't make out any details."

"Did Yuri look like he was going willingly?" Flynn asked.

Hanks nodded. "Yeah, they were walking side by side. I noticed Yuri didn't have his sword, though, and thought that a bit odd."

It was odd. Yuri rarely walked around without it, and there was no way he'd leave his house without some form of defence when he knew someone was after him. If he went willingly, though, maybe he had some sort of plan? It wasn't unheard of for Yuri to barge off on his own to try to take care of a problem. Usually he at least had the decency to let the others know. Flynn clung to the fact that Yuri had walked away of his own will, and dearly hoped this meant Yuri was off doing his own thing somewhere. "Hanks, can you do me a favour and spread the word through the lower quarter that if anyone recognized the person Yuri was with last night, they should come talk to me? I'll offer a thousand gald reward to anyone who can help find him."

Hanks nodded. "Yeah, I'll let everyone know."

"Thank you."

Hanks closed the door, and they walked away from his house. At the end of the street, Estelle said, "Maybe Yuri left with someone he knew and they haven't come back yet."

"Maybe."

Estelle pressed against him and hugged tightly. Flynn ignored his usual hesitation about whether it was appropriate to hug the princess and squeezed her back. The held each other tight for a long minute. Cold wind whistled down the street, stinging his bare cheeks. Flynn wasn't sure if he was comforting Estelle or if she was comforting him.

"He'll be fine," Flynn said when Estelle pulled away. "Trout's got as many knights as he can combing the city for Carter. We're probably getting worried over nothing. Yuri left willingly, didn't he? When he comes back, I'll yell at him and warn him never to worry us like this again."

"Yeah… ok. I bet you're right."

* * *

Later that evening, Flynn and Sodia sat in his kitchen and ate spaghetti. Flynn could never get over how quiet his house was without a cat snooping around and getting into things. He didn't want to think about Kat, though. It made his chest ache, which only worsened when he imagined finding Yuri the same way he'd found Kat.

"Thank you for coming," he said to distract himself.

"Of course, sir."

"You didn't have to, you know. It wasn't an order."

"I am aware. I think it's a good idea, though."

He still didn't feel safe sleeping alone in his house, and that feeling had only increased today. Carter wanted him dead and had already proven he had no problem sneaking into his house, so having someone else around just in case seemed like the smart thing to do. Ideally that person would be Yuri, but… well, that wasn't going to happen. Flynn's eyes fell on the small tin bowls sitting on the floor. He hadn't had the heart to throw away Kat's food bowls yet, even though she was never going to need them again. Maybe he would need them if he ever got another cat, though he couldn't see himself doing that any time soon. The pain of losing his first was still too raw.

"The pasta is very good," Sodia said to break the silence.

Flynn ate without any enthusiasm. "It's undercooked. I was afraid of overcooking it, and ended up undercooking it."

"It's fine. It's called  _al dente_."

"Is that a fancy was of saying 'poorly cooked'?"

Sodia frowned. "No, it just means it's more firm than usual but still fine to eat."

They ate the pasta with nothing but cheese and butter. Flynn had considered trying to make sauce for it, but after staring at the recipe for a minute he'd decided he was way too distracted tonight to even hope it would turn out ok.

"You know what annoys me the most?" he said out of the blue. "That Yuri is missing but I'm not even legally allowed to look for him because that would be 'interfering with Trout's work'."

"I understand that it's frustrating for you, sir."

They were almost done with dinner now. Flynn hadn't enjoyed it, because he kept imagining Yuri tied up in the same basement he'd been in. It felt cruel to enjoy food while the person he loved was suffering, but what was he supposed to do about it?

"It will be ok, sir," Sodia said hesitantly. "You were devastated after the events at the Shrine of Zaude, but that turned out all right, didn't it?"

"Yes, but it feels unrealistic to hope for a second miracle." Flynn pushed dregs of cheese soaked in butter around his plate. "I'm sorry, Sodia. I keep bringing up Yuri even though I know you don't care for him. You don't have to fake caring about him for my sake."

Sodia hesitated and glanced around the kitchen for a second. "I… well, you're right, I don't have any particular love for Yuri Lowell. But, he's important to you and I care about you, so by extension I care about him, if only because of the impact he has."

"Thank you for being honest."

She stood up and grabbed their plates. "I'll do the dishes."

"Let me help." He started to stand, but Sodia put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back into the chair. "No, you cooked dinner. Let me do the dishes to thank you."

"Thank you." Flynn rested his chin on his fist and watched Sodia at the sink.

"How, um… how is your relationship with him going?"

"There's not much to say. I haven't seen him since the morning you arrived at his house."  _And I might never see him alive again_. Argh, stop thinking that! They'd find Yuri alive and well.

She kept her eyes on the dish she scrubbed when she asked, "And in the time you've had to think about this, you still want to pursue a relationship with him?"

For a second Flynn was angry, but he understood that Sodia was just trying to help in her own way. "Yes, I do. In fact, my resolve has strengthened. The fallout for our relationship existing has already happened, so I don't even have that to worry about now."

"I suppose that makes sense. Are you sure he won't be a… a negative influence on you?"

"I like to think I'm firm enough in my own commitments to not be swayed so easily. Besides, we lived alongside each other for years growing up. If he was going to rub off on me, it would have happened at a more impressionable age, I would think."

Dishes clinked in the dish rack and Sodia dried her hands. "I trust you, sir."

"Wouldn't everyone be happy, though, if he did die and wasn't around to smear my good name anymore?" Flynn said bitterly. Sodia would probably be glad if Yuri turned up dead.

She slowly crossed the kitchen to stand beside him again. "Maybe some people would, sir. If it makes any difference to you, I wouldn't. I saw what his loss did to you after Zaude, and I would never want to see you like that again."

Flynn lowered his eyes and stared at the table, feeling bad for thinking the worst of her. "Thank you. I feel slightly better about this situation, though. When Yuri fell from Zaude, the only person to blame was Alexei and he was already dead."

He paused because he noticed Sodia flinch slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, sir," she said quickly.

Flynn wasn't sure what was wrong, but she obviously didn't want to talk about it so he respected her privacy and moved on. "Here, though, I know exactly who to blame and he is still alive. If he hurts Yuri…" He clenched his fists and forcibly quelled the fury rising through him.  _Kill that bastard_. No, he couldn't kill him. He dearly wanted to make Carter pay, and if he found Yuri dead that drive would become so strong he wouldn't know how to control it, but he held onto his resolve. Flynn did  _not_  kill people without a trial. His dedication to doing things lawfully was a rock he could cling to in the surging sea of fury, and he wasn't going to let go any time soon.

"You'll do the right thing, sir." Sodia watched him nervously. "I know you will."

Flynn certainly hoped so.

* * *

Flynn slept uneasily that night, even with Sodia in the room down the hall keeping watch. His sleep was plagued by nightmares and he woke up feeling more tired than he had when he went to bed. He woke up with a yawn when his alarm went off and dragged himself out of bed. Work. He had to go to work. How could he go to work when he still didn't know where Yuri was?

 _He's probably fine_ , he told himself for the hundredth time on the way out of his room. Flynn changed into his uniform before heading downstairs. Usually he wouldn't bother, but Sodia was here and he didn't want to walk around her in his pyjamas. He stood in front of the mirror for a good five minutes hoping to flatten his hair and rub sleep out of his eyes, but he eventually gave up and resigned himself to looking like death warmed over today.

The smell of bacon helped to lighten his mood. In the kitchen, Sodia stood over the stove accompanied by the delicious crackle of fat.

"Good morning," he said. "Are you cooking breakfast?"

She whipped her head around. "Good morning, sir. I hope you don't mind that I helped myself to your cupboards. There's scrambled eggs, too, but they won't be ready for another minute or two."

"Wow, that smells delicious. If you cook for me, you can eat my whole cupboard."

"How do you feel this morning, sir?"

Flynn leaned against the doorway of the kitchen. "Honestly, not much better. I didn't sleep well and now I'm exhausted."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Breakfast will be ready soon, though, and when we get to the castle we can see if Trout has made any advances in locating Yuri Lowell."

"Yes. Maybe if I'm lucky, he'll have shown up at home last night and I've been panicking over nothing."

"That's definitely possible."

"I'm going to grab the mail and the paper." Flynn picked these things up as quickly as he could, because it was cold and dark and he didn't want to do more than poke his arm out and grab the paper off the ground. The metal mailbox on the wall froze his fingers and he scrambled to pull them back into the warmth of his house as soon as possible. He tossed the newspaper onto the coffee table and looked down at his mail. There was nothing out of the usual, except for a thick envelope at the bottom of the stack.

The front of the envelope was blank except for a simple "Flynn". With trepidation, he pulled the letter out. There was a small package wrapped in cloth, but he looked at the letter first. He read the letter so quickly the words blurred and he had to read it multiple times.

_Dear Flynn,_

_I'm amazed you haven't managed to find me yet. Everyone says you're such a great knight, but you can't even find one little suspect? Shameful. To give you some motivation, I've invited your boyfriend over to play until you get here. I would encourage you to come over soon, though. I don't know how much longer he can handle all the fun we're having. An intelligent young man like yourself likely doesn't have to be told to come alone, or what the consequences will be for your friend if you don't._

The letter drifted to the floor after he dropped it. The fragile thread of hope he'd gripped snapped. Everything he'd feared was true and horror hit him so hard it might as well have been physical. Unable to keep his hands from shaking, he pulled out the cloth-wrapped item at the bottom of the envelope. He let the envelope fall away as he unwrapped the rough beige fabric. As he got deeper, he revealed red-brown stains soaked into the fabric. His chest throbbed and he pulled away the last, soaked-through segment to see what he now held in his hand.

It was a finger. Flynn didn't have to wonder whose it was and fought the urge to throw up. Any hope that Yuri was safe shattered. Wherever he was, Yuri was obviously in a lot of pain and Flynn felt so helpless sitting in his cozy living room with no idea where to go to help him. When he found Carter, that bastard was going to pay.


	15. Making Amends

Flynn stood in a hallway in the castle, not sure where to go. Sodia had left to attend to her own duties, and he assured her he was fine. Now that he stood here in a daze, he realized he clearly was not. Should he go to his office? Report this to Trout? Talk to Lady Estellise? Yuri's friends needed to be informed. It was hard to think of a plan when the only thing that could stick in his brain was the image of Yuri's severed finger in his hand. The best thing he could hope for was that losing a finger was the greatest extent of Yuri's injuries, but somehow he doubted that.

"Oh, good morning, Flynn."

One option was decided for him when Estelle rounded the corner and quickened her pace to stand next to him. "Good morning, Lady Estellise."

Her face fell. "Flynn, are you ok? You look upset. It… is it about Yuri?"

Telling her the truth would break her heart, but she deserved to know. She cared about Yuri as much as he did, after all. He turned his sad eyes on her and said, "This morning, I received a message from Carter. He claims to have taken Yuri hostage."

Estelle covered her mouth and her face scrunched into a horrified frown. "Yuri… is it possible he's lying?"

Flynn's face tightened. "I doubt it. Included in the message was Yuri's severed finger."

Her face fell onto his shoulder. "Oh, Yuri…"

Flynn wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "From my interpretation, I do not believe he plans to kill Yuri soon." After all, once he killed Yuri, how could he escalate offences? No, he'd keep Yuri alive… if only just… for as long as possible to draw it out. At the very least, Flynn had a feeling Yuri was planned to be the final victim. Good or bad, this was going to end soon.

"I'm going to report this to Trout. He needs to know."

Estelle accompanied him. They walked silently, so close their shoulders bumped together. Yuri wasn't frequently in the castle with them, but now his absence was conspicuous and painful. At Trout's office, they found him going over real estate forms to find any building or plot of land Timothy Carter had any ties to.

"Good morning," he said, looking up. "How are you… what's wrong?"

"You should know that we have confirmation that Carter has abducted Yuri Lowell."

"Oh… that's, um, good to know."

Estelle planted her hands on his desk and leaned forward. "You  _have_  to find him soon. He cut off Yuri's finger. Please, we have to find Yuri before he suffers anymore."

"Have you learned anything at all?" Flynn asked.

Trout shook his head. "Nothing. Sorry. I'm trying my best."

"Clearly your best isn't good enough," Flynn snapped. Estelle gave him a warning glance, and Flynn slouched with a sigh. "I apologize for my tone." Of course Trout wasn't as emotionally invested in this. It made sense, and Flynn knew that sometimes being personally involved could damage your ability to think logically. Maybe it was better that Trout was in charge, since he wasn't likely to make irrational decisions fuelled by emotion. That made sense in theory, but Flynn couldn't shake the feeling that he ought to be in charge because Trout obviously didn't care enough to be truly dedicated to finding Yuri.

Trout looked down at his desk. "I understand. I know this situation is very personal for you. I will try to find him as soon as I can."

Flynn took a deep breath. "Yes. Thank you. Have a good day."

Outside, Estelle rubbed his arm. "It's ok, Flynn. I'm worried, too."

"I hate this. I hate feeling so helpless. This is worse than Zaude, because this time I still don't know where he is but I know for a fact that he's suffering." He took a few deep breaths to calm down. "I can't sit here and do nothing when Yuri is out there. I'm going to look for him."

"Where?"

"I don't know. Everywhere. I'll patrol the city and look for any sign of him."

"Knights have already scoured the city for clues, though."

"Maybe they missed something." He didn't really expect to find something, but roaming the streets would at least let him feel like he was doing something to help. He didn't actually have time to wander aimlessly through the streets, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to get anything accomplished sitting at his desk anyway.

* * *

The group was silent. They sat around a table at the inn, staring at their drinks and absorbing everything Estelle had said.

"I can't believe it." Karol rested his cheeks on his fists. "Yuri's the one we always relied on, but now…"

Rita crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "He brought it on himself, the big idiot. He willingly walked away with whoever that person was the other day. He bit off more than he could chew and now he's gone and made all of us miserable."

Estelle rested her hand on Rita's knee. Rita would never admit she needed comfort or even that she was upset, but the crease in her brow betrayed how worried she was. "Flynn is out looking for him right now. I'm sure he'll find something." She wasn't sure at all, but felt the need to say  _something_.

"I want to be optimistic," Karol said. "But we already know he lost a finger. That has to really hurt."

Judith idly stirred her cup of tea. "Estelle, when we get Yuri back, can you use your healing artes to fix his finger?"

The weight of worry for Yuri dragged her down and shaking her head was like dragging an anchor. "Healing artes can only accelerate the body's natural healing process to close wounds. If something would never naturally heal, like losing a limb, magic can't do anything but stop the bleeding.  If the stump is already beginning to close, I can't re-attach it."

"And if his finger's still bleedin' by the time we find him, he'll have more problems than a missin' finger."

Karol grimaced at Raven and unconsciously clutched his fingers. "There's gotta be something we can do. Yuri's always there to help and support us, and now we're just sitting here when he's in danger."

"It is annoying." Judith pouted at her tea. "I don't like sitting around. I want to break somebody's neck."

Estelle was a bit frightened by how matter-of-factly Judith expressed her desire to break a neck, but when she imagined what state Yuri might be in right now, she had to agree.

Repede growled and rested his head in his paws. He curled up on the ground next to Judith, and Estelle fought the urge to comfort him. She wanted to rub his belly and tell him everything would be all right, but Repede would hardly let her do that.

"I'll ask around," Raven said. "My askin' didn't get very far last time, but it's something'."

Karol looked to Raven morosely. "We'll find him, right?"

Raven slapped him on the shoulder. "Don't you worry, kid. Yuri's one tough cookie."

"Excuse me," a new voice said, "may I interrupt?"

Five faces turned up and then glared. "What do  _you_  want?" Rita spat.

Angie Klapp puffed herself up. "Well, you don't have to treat me like I have the plague."

Raven leaned forward. "Why don't'cha hurry along back ta the public quarter? No one down here wants anythin' ta do with ya."

Repede raised his head and barred his teeth, sending her a threatening growl that spoke of ripped jugulars.

"Hmph. If a reporter only went to places they were invited, they wouldn't get much reporting done. You're Yuri Lowell's friends, right? I want to talk to you."

"Look, there ain't many women ol' Raven would turn down talkin' ta, but ya happen to have the honour of bein' one of 'em. I don't like gals who slander my friends."

Angie pursed her lips. "It isn't slander if it's true."

Rita crossed her arms. "And it isn't good journalism if your only goal is to make your subject miserable. You'd better scram before I knock your lights out."

"All I wanted was to ask for some interviews about Yuri Lowell. He's been abducted and quotations from his close friends would complete the story."

Estelle didn't get angry often, but Angie Klapp managed to punch all her buttons. Anger flared up and before she could stop herself she planted her fists on her hips and spoke her mind. "You are a horrible woman. You profit off other people's suffering and I won't allow you to do that to Yuri."

"You can't stop me from writing an article."

The chair screeched as Estellise got to her feet and stabbed her finger at Angie. "If you even attempt to profit off what happened to Yuri, I will have the emperor himself create a law just to throw you in jail."

"And since that will take a long time," Judith said sweetly, "I may have to break every bone in your body in the meanwhile."

Angie glanced nervously around the group. "You can't do that. I haven't broken any laws. The commandant would never stand for this."

Rita grinned. "Unfortunately for you, we're not Flynn."

"We're not even part of the empire," Karol said.

"So if ya think we we'd hesitate to kick yer ass 'cause of what the Knights want, ya've got another thing comin'."

She clutched her notepad like a shield, though since it was barely three inches wide, it wasn't terribly effective. "I'm only trying to make a living. I've done nothing wrong."

"I don't know if I'd say 'nothing'." The sweetness in Judith's voice edged toward icy, and Estelle sank back into her seat to let her take over the threats. Heaven knew she was better at it. "The only reason Carter attacked Yuri is because  _you_  made it public knowledge that he was seeing Flynn. They specifically intended to keep their relationship a secret, and if you hadn't taken it upon yourself to announce it to the city, Yuri would be safe at home right now. Don't try to tell me you had nothing to do with his abduction."

Angie gaped and lowered the notepad. "Well… I - I can't be held accountable for that."

"Whether you meant ta or not, ya can't ignore the hand you played."

"Raven is right." The wildfire of Estelle's anger had burned into a controlled blaze "Maybe you don't like Flynn, but think about the fact that an innocent man who's never done anything to you is probably being  _tortured_  at this very moment because of what you wrote."

Angie bit her lip and couldn't manage to meet Estelle's eyes. She glanced at her notebook and then mumbled, "Well… I see I'm not going to get anything to report here. Thank you for your time."

She hurried away and Karol turned around in his chair to face the others again. "Hmph. Good riddance."

* * *

Flynn wandered the streets for hours, until his thighs were numb and his nose ran from the chill wind. The words from Carter's letter ran through his head over and over.

 _I'm amazed you haven't managed to find me yet_.

He made it sound like Flynn already had all the clues to find him. Did he? He wasn't sure. This had better not be like when he kidnapped his father and didn't give Flynn the crucial clue until it was too late. Thinking of that, why  _did_  Timothy kill his father? Lord Carter seemed honestly concerned about his son, and he was his source for ether. There must be some bad blood between them Flynn didn't know about.

_I don't know how much longer he can handle all the fun we're having._

Flynn pictured Yuri with his hands bound above his head and blindfolded, struggling to stay on his toes while Carter beat him. He started walking a little faster. Yuri being Yuri, he was probably pissing Carter off with endless witty comments. Yuri would be more angry than worried or upset, and if he saw how devastated Flynn was he'd tease him about having so little faith.

Flynn tried so hard to be optimistic, but the fact remained that the man he loved was being held and presumably tortured, and it was all because of him. If only he'd done the sensible thing and never told Yuri how he felt. He should have held his tongue and kept himself untied, and then this disaster with the Council would never have happened and Carter would have no reason to target Yuri. He'd been too emotional that night because of Kat and he'd let himself think with his heart instead of his head. Now Yuri was suffering on his account because he couldn't keep his stupid mouth shut.

At the same time, he also wished he had acted sooner. Why had he spent so much time convincing himself he felt nothing for Yuri but brotherly camaraderie? If he'd stopped being so thick-headed and listened to what his feelings told him, he could have initiated a relationship months ago. Then they would have been able to truly enjoy their time together, instead of the short week they'd had. There were so many things they could have done if they'd just had the time.

But they would still do them. They were going to find Yuri and they were going to get him back in one piece. He and Yuri would take Carter down together, and then they'd share a drink and poke fun at each other's mess-ups and everything would be the same as it used to be.

Flynn stopped when he realized he was back at the castle. He'd wandered Zaphias all morning, looking for any sign of Yuri or Carter. He didn't know what he was looking for, which was why he hadn't found anything. All he'd accomplished was freezing his ass off and procrastinating on Knight business. Wandering around in the snow wasn't going to help Yuri. All he could do now was go to his office and hope Trout was more competent than he seemed.

A pair of knights stopped him at the front gate of the castle. "Good afternoon, Commandant!"

"Greetings. Is there something you need?"

Armour clinked as the knight stood ramrod-straight. "I was told to inform you that a reporter is waiting for you in your office."

"A reporter?" He fought the urge to groan. "It wouldn't happen to be Angie Klapp, would it?"

"I do not know, sir."

"Thank you for informing me."

The last thing Flynn wanted to do was talk to a reporter, and he especially didn't want to talk to the reporter who'd tried to ruin his life. He half hoped it was somebody else, but with all the crap the universe had been throwing his way he really didn't know what he expected when he opened the door and found Angie sitting in a chair by his desk.

"Good afternoon, Commandant." She stood up when he entered.

"Hello," he said stiffly, taking off his boots and leaving them on a rubber mat by the door. They were still caked in snow, so he changed into dry shoes to wear in the office and hung his coat in the wardrobe. While shaking the snow off his hat, he said, "I was told you were here. You might as well leave, because I can tell you right now I have no interest in talking to you."

"I'm writing an article about Yuri Lowell. I was wondering if you could give me an interview."

He nearly ripped his scarf in half. Slamming it on the hook, he whirled around and stormed across the room. "How  _dare_  you? How dare you come here and ask me to spill my feelings about this after what you've written? What, do you want to use this as an excuse to show Zaphias what an irresponsible sexual deviant I am for having emotions about Yuri's abduction when I should be working?" Flynn would never hit an unarmed person and he would definitely never hit an unarmed lady, but Angie was definitely trying his patience.

"No, that wasn't my plan."

"Good day, Ms. Klapp. I'm not interested in helping you smear me again." Standing right in front of her now, he gestured to the door. "You can show yourself out, and you can rest assured I will inform my knights not to allow you entrance to the castle again."

"Wait!" She clutched her notebook in a panic. "Please, hear me out. I want to help you."

He hesitated for a second. "Help me?"

"Mr. Scifo, I… I believe I owe you an apology."

He paused even longer, certain he'd misheard. "Excuse me?"

"I wrote an article about you out of anger. You made a legitimate mistake, and if you acted rashly it was out of a strong desire to catch a horrible man before anyone else could be hurt. Because of my retaliation, an innocent man was victimized."

He gave her a dark glare. "Yuri is the one you should apologize to."

"Yes, but he isn't here."

"I've noticed." Flynn leaned against his desk, because Angie was still standing and he wasn't about to give her the height advantage by sitting down. "Is there anything else you wanted to say?"

"I want to make this up to you with an interview. Tell me everything about Yuri. Let me tell Zaphias about how you fell in love, and how painful it is that he's missing. They'll read the article because a man kidnapped by a serial killer is exciting, but by the end they'll have an image of how genuine your relationship truly is."

He eyed her suspiciously. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Because Yuri was kidnapped because of me." She stared at her shiny black shoes. "I only ever wanted to sell papers. Scandals and drama sell papers better than reporting that everything is fine. I never intended anyone to physically get hurt. I want to make it up to you by retracting the derogatory comments I made about you in my earlier article. I can't simply retract them because no one notices those things. The only way to fix the damage is to replace it with a positive article. If I write about how much you love him and what this is doing to you, no one will care that he's from the Union or that he's a man. All they'll notice is the love and pain and that is something they can empathize with. It won't fully undo the damage to your reputation I did, but maybe it can help."

He didn't want to talk to Angie. He wanted to kick her out of his office and see her drop out of journalism forever. But, she had a point. If a scathing article from her was enough to convince a significant percentage of people that he was untrustworthy, a glowing one might swing them back to the positive side of public opinion. Besides, he'd wasted enough time today. Another half hour couldn't be that much more damaging. "Fine, but only if you allow me to read the article before publishing."

"Yes, of course. Anything you don't like, I'll change, as long as you don't ask me to make something up."

"Deal. You have half an hour, and then I need to get back to work." He sat behind his desk and folded his hands. "What do you want to know?"

Angie eagerly sat across from him and whipped out her pen. "Where did you meet?"

Flynn thought about this for a moment, because Yuri had been in his life for so long he sometimes took it for granted that they hadn't always known each other. "By the fountain in the lower quarter. I was six."

She glanced over the top of the notebook. "That long ago?"

Flynn nodded. "It was hardly love at first sight. He stole my muffin, and then punched me in the stomach when I tried to chase after him. I called him a… well, the specific word I used at the time was 'buttface'."

Angie laughed slightly as she wrote this down. "It seems things have definitely changed. When did you stop thinking he was a… um, 'buttface'?"

"A few days later he helped me out when I was accosted by some older boys. He told me he felt bad about stealing from me and wanted to make amends." He supposed Angie could empathize with that part. "Yuri then explained that he had been hungry, because he hadn't eaten in several days. I started bringing food to him and not too much longer after that he moved in with me and my mother."

"So you were childhood friends?"

"That's right. We haven't always agreed on things - in fact, we rarely do - but we've always been there for each other. I know that if I'm ever in trouble, he'll be there to pull me out, and if he's in trouble…" he looked down at his hands. "Well, I'll do my best."

"When did you develop feelings for each other?"

Flynn thought about this. "I'm not entirely sure. It began several months ago, I think. Most likely near the end or in the immediate aftermath of the Adephagos crisis. I didn't realize what my feelings were until about two and a half weeks ago, though. For almost my entire life, he was my best friend. He's still my best friend, but now there's a romantic side to our relationship as well."

"Would you describe your relationship as 'true love'?"

He once again considered this for nearly a minute. Angie's pen scratching away at her notebook made him hyper-aware that anything he said might be printed for all of Zaphias to see, and this might be his one chance to restore his reputation. "That's a very heavy concept. I'm not sure I even know what 'true love' really is, or if it only exists in fairy tales. I do know that I would give my life for Yuri and that there is no other person I would rather spend time with. I don't know if that is 'true love', but it is the strongest love I have ever felt for another person."

"How does his abduction make you feel?"

Flynn let out a deep breath. This one he didn't have to think about and the words tumbled out of his mouth. "It's tearing me apart. I feel helpless and afraid. I want to believe in him and stay strong for my men, but knowing he is suffering makes me ache as if I was being beaten as well."

"Tragic, simply tragic," Angie muttered as she scribbled this all down.

The questions continued for over twenty minutes. By the end, Flynn was pretty tired of talking about himself. Angie wanted to know everything about their relationship, from what they liked to do on dates to what funny quirks Yuri had that Flynn enjoyed.

"You're not going to publish  _all_  of this, are you?" he asked near the end. She had several pages of notes now, and Flynn dearly hoped she wasn't going to just print the entire interview word for word. In some questions, he'd ended up rambling and it came out sappy and contrived.

"Of course not. The whole point of this is to make you look good and make people care about your relationship. A transcript of an interview won't catch reader attention the way a tragic story about true love cut short by a murderous villain will."

"It isn't cut short. Yuri will be rescued alive and well any day now."

"I'm sure he will," she said without any conviction. "I just have one last question: if Timothy Carter reads the paper, is there any message you'd want to send to him?"

 _I'm going to kill you_. No, not that. "Just one thing: wherever you are, I will find you. You should pray that Yuri is still alive when I do."

Angie smiled while writing that quote down. "Yes, very good." She folded her notepad and looked up. "I think that's everything I wanted to ask you. Thank you very much. I'll have a draft of the article sent to your desk some time tomorrow for review. Now, there's just one more thing I wanted to tell you. I have information that might be relevant to finding Yuri."

His heart skipped a beat and he struggled to maintain an even tone. "Excuse me? Why did you wait until  _now_  to tell me?"

She smiled serenely. "Because I knew that as soon as I told you, you'd barge out and I wouldn't get my interview."

A lengthy, frustrated breath escaped him. It was too late to do anything now. She was  _trying_  to do the right thing by fixing the damage she did to him, and he supposed terrible human beings could only be so selfless before the identity crisis shattered them. "All right. Fine. What is this information?"

"When I was in the lower quarter, I heard you were looking for the man Yuri was seen with the night he disappeared. I am reasonably certain that the man in question was Jasper."

It took Flynn as second. "Jasper? As in… Jasper Trout?"

Angie bobbed her head. "He cut our date short that evening. He said he needed to meet with Yuri Lowell about something important, but he wouldn't say what."

That absolute  _bastard_. All his assertions that he knew nothing about Yuri, and he'd been with Yuri the night he disappeared? All Flynn knew was that there was no reason to lie about meeting Yuri if he wasn't guilty of something. They were pretty certain now that Timothy Carter was their culprit, but what if he had an accomplice? Someone to worm his way onto the case and keep him from getting caught?

Flynn was on his feet before consciously thinking about it. "You can show yourself out."

"Thank you for the interview!"

Flynn slammed the door on her without replying. She might be trying to make amends, but he was still angry at her for trying to ruin his life in the first place. He barely noticed time passing between the journey from his office to Trout's and he slammed the door open without knocking.

"Hey, what are you-"

"Where is Yuri?" It wasn't quite a yell, but only because his fury had reached such heights that it circled back around into a deathly quiet.

"I don't know yet, but I'm working on it."

Flynn slammed his hands on the desk. "I  _know_  you were with him the night he disappeared. You are the last person to have seen him alive, and I want to know where he is and what you did with him."

Trout scooted back and stared at him with terror. "I - I don't know what you mean. I haven't done anything to him."

"Don't give me those pathetic excuses! Your own girlfriend told me you were with him that night. Where did you take him? Where's Carter?!"

"I don't know," Trout said in a tiny voice. "Honestly, I don't know where he is."

"If you try to deny your involvement again, I'll have you thrown in prison."

"A-all right!" He held his hands up defensively. "Ok, I… I was with him. And I… well… it's my fault he was captured." He fell forward and buried his face in his hands.

He looked pathetic, but Flynn didn't have an ounce of sympathy for him. "Explain."

"I wanted to catch Carter. Then I thought, you caught Zagi by using Yuri as bait, right?"

Flynn had a sinking feeling he knew where this was going.

"After he was attacked, I knew Carter was targeting him and would probably attempt to do so again." He pulled his head up to explain further. "But, the first time he attacked Yuri when he was vulnerable in the shower, and he hadn't made a move since, so I figured he was waiting for Yuri to expose himself, when he was unarmed and alone. I went to talk to Yuri and explained my plan. He  _agreed_ , I should point out. I didn't force him to do anything. I told him we'd have him sit out in the open, unarmed, in the evening and see if Carter made a move. When Carter appeared, I told him I'd have a squad of knights burst out and overpower him. Yuri said this sounded like a good plan, and that he didn't want to drag the others into it, especially you."

Dammit, Yuri. Why did he always have to charge off on his own? "So what happened? Did Carter overpower your entire squad?"

Trout fumbled his thumbs and bit his lip. "Well… that's where there was a problem. See, I knew our suspect was wealthy, maybe a noble, and that it would be difficult to get charges to stick to him without concrete evidence tying him to the other crimes. I thought that if we found his hideout, where the other murders were carried out, we'd have a stronger case and be able to charge him with all eight murders."

"You let him captured."

Trout hesitated, and then glumly nodded his head. "I… I didn't tell Yuri the full plan because I feared he wouldn't go along with it. I told him the knights would emerge as soon as Carter did, but instead we stood back and let him be knocked out. Then we followed him to find where he was going, but he moved too quickly. Carter managed to escape."

Screaming abuse at Trout wouldn't bring Yuri back, but it would certainly make Flynn feel better. "You  _lied_  to him?! How can you possibly justify this as Yuri going along of his own free will when you didn't tell him the entire plan? Yuri would never agree to the plan if he knew it relied on trusting you idiots to rescue him after getting knocked out!"

"I thought it was the only way!"

"You knew he had been captured  _that night_ , but you didn't report him missing until Lady Estellise and I told you the next afternoon. That means Yuri was held captive for over twelve hours before anyone even started looking for him."

"I'm sorry, ok? I only wanted to catch this guy no matter what. I would have done anything to bring him to justice - you would have done the same if you weren't emotionally attached to Yuri!"

Flynn bristled, struggling to keep from striking Trout. He took a deep breath and reined in his fury. "No. I wouldn't have, and I'm offended you think I would. I would never put an innocent in danger, and I especially wouldn't do it without being completely honest with them."

Trout was quiet, and couldn't meet Flynn's eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"Where did you lose sight of Carter?"

"On Orson Street. He took a left turn at the intersection of Orson and Kerry and we lost him."

"Thank you." Flynn straightened up and turned around. On his way to the door, he said, "I don't expect you to be of any help, but I'm going to find Yuri."


	16. Chapter 16

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in.

It was lucky his nose wasn't clogged. That was something to be grateful for, right? Yuri briefly closed his eyes in hopes it would do something about the pounding in his head, but no luck.

The side of his face pressed against the cold stone floor. How many days had it been? At least two, he was sure. Two days since he'd had any food or water. Two days since he'd seen sunlight. Two days since he'd been able to move his arms and his shoulders, and now his elbows throbbed from having his wrists held behind his back for so long. Since he was alone, he let himself groan and shifted to try to find a more comfortable position. No such position existed, and with his ankles tied as tightly as his wrists he didn't have much chance of walking out of here to find one.

At least he could see. That was hardly a comfort, because it was so dark down here he couldn't actually see until Carter came down with a lantern, and Carter coming down to visit was never a fun time. There was also the worrisome fact that Carter made no effort to conceal his face, which meant he didn't intend on letting Yuri out of here alive. What Yuri couldn't do was talk, because an old rag had been shoved in his mouth and tied in place with a strip of cloth.

When he got out of here, he was going to kick Trout's ass so hard he was left with a permanent boot imprint. Yuri wasn't sure if Trout was a scheming bastard who'd lied about giving him backup, or if he was just so laughably incompetent he wasn't capable of directing it. Either way, Yuri had signed up to be bait to lure Carter out and instead he'd been smothered with ether and woken up down here. Now his bare torso was covered in bruises, burns, cuts, and in some places all three at once. He still vividly remembered the knife slicing through his finger, and the subsequent searing agony of the stump being cauterized. His hand throbbed with every beat of his heart.

In the distance, he heard footsteps. Yuri flinched on instinct, and rubbed his wrists in a last-ditch effort for freedom. This hadn't worked the last fifty times he tried, and he didn't have any more luck now. All he managed to accomplish was to hurt his wrists even more, and he was still pathetically helpless when the barred iron door opened and Carter entered the narrow room with a lantern in one hand and a cup in the other.

Yuri glared daggers at the man, who ignored him as always. That was the most frustrating part, actually. Carter managed to ignore him even while torturing him. He never spoke, never looked Yuri in the eyes, and never made any sign he even acknowledged his victim as a living person and not a sack of meat. Quite frankly, it was rather rude. If Yuri was going to be tortured, he'd prefer that his torturer at least put some personal investment into it. What was the point of torturing someone if you didn't want any information from them and you didn't want sadistic pleasure from watching them in pain?

Carter knelt in front of him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him upright. Yuri's head spun and, infuriatingly, he would have fallen over again if Carter wasn't holding him. He set the cup down, pulled the gag from Yuri's mouth, and then shoved the cup in his face. "Drink."

As satisfying as it would be to spit the water right in his face, Yuri had to be practical. His throat was parched, his skull pounded, he nearly fell over just sitting up, and he wasn't going to make any daring escape attempts if he died of dehydration. He gulped down water, trying not to look grateful.

Carter lowered the cup, and Yuri took his chance. Before Carter had a chance to put the gag back in place, Yuri lunged forward and clamped his teeth on Carter's face with a snarl. Carter shouted and shoved Yuri away. Yuri hit the ground hard and spat blood from his mouth.

"You little bitch!" Carter roared, one hand clamped over his mouth and nose. He muffled a few coughs.

His foot slammed into Yuri's stomach, but Yuri just laughed. "What're you mad about? Maybe you'll be better looking now."

Carter stormed out, presumably to get an apple gel, and Yuri shouted after him, "Yeah, go wash your face! You taste like shit, asshole!"

The metal door slammed shut again, and Yuri took deep gulps of breath from the floor. It had been a while since he'd been able to breathe through his mouth. He didn't know how long he had before Carter came back and gagged him again, so he had to use his time wisely. With a deep breath and more exertion than he'd liked to admit, he pushed his battered body upright. His joints seemed to creak and more bruises and burns than he cared to count throbbed and stung. Getting his hands free at this point would be impossible, but he might be able to get his feet free. He didn't have a plan after that, but it was better than nothing. Straining his legs, he pulled his knees apart as much as he could and hunched his back.

The position hurt every joint in his body, but he got his teeth around the rope. They were uselessly flat, but he did his best to pull strings of hemp away and try to wear it down. Like hell was he going to sit here and wait for Carter to come back. That bastard needed a good kick to the nuts and Yuri was keen to be the one to deliver.

Footsteps were coming back. Dammit, he hadn't gotten his legs free yet. He couldn't make a move against Carter if he was stuck on the ground. If he could just stand up and use his legs!

The grated door swung open again. Yuri jerked his head up with frustration; he hadn't even made a dent in the rope. Carter had a raw red gash from his upper lip to his nose and an angry glint in his eyes. He had a lit cigar in one hand and blew a puff of smoke out before saying, "So. That's how it's going to be?"

"That's a nice look for you," Yuri sneered.

Carter smacked him across the face. The inside of Yuri's cheek cut against his teeth, and he spat blood at Carter's shoes.

"You're so talkative," Yuri grumbled. "You know, I'm kinda offended. If someone's gonna beat me to death, a little personal interaction wouldn't hurt."

"That's too bad. I don't really care what you have to say." He crouched to get at eye-level and took a long drag on his cigar. He blew into Yuri's face, and Yuri instinctively fluttered his eyes to escape the stinging smoke.

"Smoking kills, you know. On second thought, go ahead and keep puffing."

Rage flashed onto his face and he grabbed a handful of Yuri's hair. "Shut the hell up," he barked, his voice hoarse.

That's right, Carter actually was dying from smoking too much. Yuri hoped it was painful.

Carter knelt next to him and jerked Yuri's head back with his tight grip on his hair. With a smirk, he lightly rested the tip of his cigar against the side of Yuri's neck. Yuri jerked on instinct, and when Carter increased the pressure he clamped his mouth shut to prevent giving that fucker the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

"It really is unfortunate for you." He finally pulled the cigar away and Yuri's chest heaved. "The only reason you're here is because the commandant will be upset when he sees how much pain you're in. You can beg and scream all you want; it's not going to change anything."

Yuri narrowed his eyes and regretted he didn't have enough saliva to spit again. "Just as well, since I had no intention of doing either." He hissed when the cigar came down on his collarbone, sending smoke curling into his nose. "Th-that all you got?"

Carter kept his firm grip on Yuri's hair but pulled the cigar to his mouth and gave Yuri a moment of relief. Yuri let himself rest for a few seconds and then asked, "So that's really all it is? Kick my ass to make Flynn upset? Not that I want to encourage anyone to beat Flynn up, but I gotta wonder if it might be easier to skip the middle man."

"That wouldn't work on Flynn and you know it. See, the commandant is one of those obnoxious goody-two-shoes types." He dug the cigar into Yuri's chest until Yuri felt his skin sizzling. He coughed again, but Yuri was in far too much pain to be grossed out at him not bothering to cover his mouth. "You can beat him up all you want and he won't care, but lay one finger on someone he cares about and it's the end of the world. I really hate those people."

Yuri panted and strained against Carter's grip in an effort to distance himself from the heat. "Is that's what this is about? You th-think Flynn is annoying? Look, buddy, I… ungh… I think he's a pain in the ass, too, but you don't see m-me murdering people."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand." He moved the cigar a few inches to the left. "Nobody does."

"P-poor baby. Nobody under-agh…" Yuri squeezed his eyes tight. "Understands you."

"See, a few years ago, the doctor told me my lungs rotting and were gonna kill me. I think I was pretty understandably upset. You'd be upset, too, wouldn't you?"

He pressed the cigar harder against Yuri's chest and he bit his lip until he drew blood to keep from screaming.

"There were these people, and they were all happy because they were going to live, but I wasn't, and that's not fair!"

The cigar moved, but Yuri barely noticed. His whole chest was a constant throb of heat. His scalp hurt because he kept trying to yank his head out of Carter's iron grip and his bound feet kicked against the floor in an attempt to find an angle he could kick him. "S-so you k-killed them?"

"Yeah! Anybody else would have done the same! And then that snivelling little lieutenant showed up and he looked at me, all disgusted like, and told me I needed help. I got into his face and told him he would have done the same thing if he'd had a bad enough day, but then he told me I was a monster and sent me off to get discharged." He pulled the cigar away to take another long drag on it.

"Boo-hoo. You murdered innocent people and nobody cared about your feelings. What a sad life." Carter breathed smoke into Yuri's face. "Ah, hey, cut that out. I don't wanna get second-hand smoke. Maybe you oughta…" he had to stop to pant for breath. _Fuck_ , this hurt. "Take some responsibility and stop f-fucking smoking."

"Everyone says Flynn Scifo is such a perfect knight. They say he'll always stick to the law, and he's incorruptible. Precious Flynn would  _never_  kill someone if he was upset. Flynn is so sure he's better than me, but he's not. Even the most upstanding man is capable of violence and murder if you push him far enough. What do you think Flynn's limit is, huh?" He jammed the cigar into the soft flesh at the base of Yuri's neck. "When he shows up and finds his beloved tortured and murdered, do you think that will be enough?"

" _No_ ," Yuri hissed. "Flynn is…" he panted and suppressed an agonized moan. " _Nothing_  like you."

The cigar moved before burning a hole straight through Yuri's windpipe, but left a mark that seared with pain. "I think he will. No one is  _really_  that above it all. He's going to kill me when he finds you." Carter grinned at him while pressing the cigar into Yuri's shoulder.

Yuri tried not to betray how worried he was that Carter might be right. At the very least, the agony on his face gave him a good cover for what subtler emotions lay beneath pain. He'd been worried about Flynn hitting his limit for a while now, and he really didn't know how Flynn would react. Ordinarily, he'd trust that Flynn would keep his cool even if Yuri died, but with all that had happened in the past few weeks, Yuri wasn't sure. Carter had meticulously driven Flynn to the edge, and killing Yuri could very well be the final straw that pushed him over. He couldn't let Carter see his doubt, though. "You  _wish_  Flynn would kill you. He'd do it quick and merciful. As soon as I get my hands free, you're going down painfully."

Carter laughed, which turned into a cough, and took another drag on his cigar. "You're right. I do hope Flynn kills me." He took obvious pleasure in choosing the next spot to burn. "I'm going to die anyway. This way, that obnoxious commandant will have to live the rest of his life knowing that in the end, he really was no better than me. That even the best person, when pushed hard enough, is capable of murder. That he's just as much of a monster as I am. That's a legacy worth leaving behind."

"You're fucking crazy."

"You don't understand!" He rammed the cigar right into the middle of Yuri's chest. "That's my problem with all you people! My father was just as bad. Telling me I should get help. I don't need help! I hated that doddering old idiot."

The cigar ground into Yuri's flesh and he scrunched his face up trying to hold in any sound. A muffled whimper managed to escape and his fingers twitched, which only sent more stabs of pain from the burned stump.

Carter pulled the cigar away and looked down at the tip. "Oops. I snuffed it out."

"S-s-sorry," Yuri gasped. It still felt like the cigar was boring into his chest. "G-guess my skin's too tough."

"Whatever." Carter tossed the cigar aside. "I'm tired of talking to you anyway."

He grabbed the cloth from the gag and Yuri curled his lip with displeasure. "Aw, and we were just getting a good conversation going, too."

Carted shoved the rag into Yuri's mouth and then tied it around the back of his head, until it dug painfully into the corners of his lips. Then Carter stood up and gathered Yuri's hair into his fist, jerking up so Yuri's neck snapped down. Yuri had a second to wonder what he was doing until he saw the flash of a knife pulled from Carter's belt. At this, he began struggling.

 _Don't you fucking think about_ , he mentally screamed while trying to pull away. He strained against Carter's grip and his feet uselessly kicked against the rough stone floor, but there was nothing he could do to stop the knife from slashing through the fistful of hair. With the tether gone, Yuri's lingering strength wasn't enough to stay upright and he toppled to the side.

Carter slammed his boot into Yuri's back and tossed his hair to the ground. Without another word, he left the room. The iron door slammed shut, ringing with finality.

Yuri didn't move for a few minutes after he left. He needed a chance to catch his breath and come to terms with the sudden chill on the back of his neck.  _Shit_. He'd been growing his hair out since he was a kid. It hadn't been this short since Flynn's mom was alive. His hand throbbed again and he considered that maybe he shouldn't be this upset about his hair being cut off in light of other things he'd lost. His hair would grow back; fingers would not. It still bothered him, and his head felt oddly light when he tried to raise it.

 _Priorities, Yuri_.

The only part of his body that didn't hurt in some degree was the pinkie toe on his left foot. Carter had explicitly told him he planned to torture him to death. It went without saying that Yuri was not in a good place, and he was too overwhelmed by pain, sleep deprivation, hunger, thirst, and cold to make any significant escape attempts.  He hated to admit it, but he was going to need to lie here, conserve his energy as much as he could, and put his faith in Flynn. As much as he wanted Carter dead, he prayed Flynn would hold himself together and not do the deed himself. No matter how much he wanted to, murdering Carter would destroy him.

* * *

Flynn stood at the crossroads of Orson and Kerry, hoping something would leap out at him. This was where Yuri had last been seen alive. Footprints covered the ground, but this snow had fallen only last night so none would be Carter's. No one had gotten around to salting the roads yet today; the lower quarter was always the lowest priority, and narrow streets like Kerry usually didn't get it at all. After a few days of people walking over it, the ground would be clear, but for now he had a couple of inches of snow to contend with.

He turned left and walked down Kerry street. Kerry took him between two tall, grey-bricked buildings so close together a cart couldn't make it between them. At the end of the street, it turned into a bridge to cross the river. On the other side of the bridge, Kerry hit Grant Avenue, which ran perpendicular and followed the path of the river. A tall brownstone building pressed Grant against the river, so that anybody crossing the bridge would be force to walk along the river, fully exposed to someone standing on the bridge.

Trout may be incompetent, but even he couldn't be so bad that he wouldn't notice Carter running along Grant Avenue with a plain brownstone backdrop. He must have disappeared somewhere in this narrow street, right after he turned the corner. When Trout rounded the corner a minute later, Carter and Yuri had disappeared.

Flynn turned his head to the dimming blue-grey sky. The buildings on either side of Kerry rose impassively into the air. The first windows weren't until the second floor, and the brick was too smooth to climb to them without equipment and significant time. Where did they go? Two people couldn't simply vanish into thin air. Carter was frustratingly good at moving without being seen. No one had ever spotted him dumping a body, he'd managed to sneak into the castle unseen, and he'd gone days without being noticed at all. He had to have some way of moving secretly through the city. Had he learned to fly? Did he perfect the world's first ring of invisibility?

He turned his eyes to the snow instead. It was too fresh to be of any use in following footsteps. That was the trouble with snow; it left useful footprints, but as soon as a fresh batch fell, all traces of evidence were destroyed. This narrow, snowy street had swallowed Yuri up and Flynn was certain the key clue to finding him was right under his nose. He crouched and ran a gloved hand through the snow. It lay in a smooth blanket across the street… except for one spot where the outline of a square had been drawn. It looked like someone had cut a square into the snow with a knife, about two feet around all four sides.

"What's this?" Curious, Flynn brushed the snow away. Beneath, he found a stone slab, just like all the other stone slabs that made the road. He brushed more snow away to analyze the rest of the grey squares. The one that had been outlined had a small stamp engraved into the corner, which he leaned forward and squinted to see. He made out the letters 'ZW', engraved over the fiery pattern that had once lit up Zaphias' sky at the tip of the barrier. The paving stone right next to it had a rounded chunk cut out of the side. What was…?

He drew a quick breath and dug his fingers into the side of the slab using the opening cut out of its neighbour. That logo stood for Zaphias Waterworks - this was a manhole cover. These old sewer entrances weren't used anymore for safety issues, but they still worked. He pried the slab up and let it fall to the street with a snowy crunch. A thick smell oozed out of the sewer, which stretched black and unforgiving straight down.

As he stared at the sewer entrance, a hundred little details flew through his mind. He remembered Victoria Muller's blood gathering in the crack of a manhole cover close to her body. He remembered a rat darting into a sewer grate in the alley where Tabitha Zimmerman had been taken. The river cut through the sewer as both systems worked their way down Zaphias and the levels shifted, meaning you could get into the sewers through a grate in the river in many places throughout the city. Abigail Boggs had been found next to the river. Yuri and Estelle had told him of a secret passage out of the castle through the sewer; maybe they weren't the only ones who knew about it. Black mould found on Tabitha's fingernails - it grew it cool, damp, dark locations, just like a sewer. Rat blood used to write a message on his mirror. Well, he didn't know any better place to find rats than the sewer. When Flynn had been kidnapped, he'd thought he was in a basement. Well, he was underground all right - down in the cold, dark sewer.

Carter was right; Flynn should have figured this out ages ago. He glanced to the sky, which was now a dark blue. He could go back to the castle and return with a squad of knights to barge into the sewer, but that would take time that Yuri didn't have. Besides, Carter had specifically told him to come alone. When it was Yuri's life hanging in the balance, he wasn't taking any chances. Carter might slit his throat the moment he saw more than just Flynn approaching. There was no time to lose. Without a second thought, Flynn swung onto the ladder and climbed into the dark.

The rungs of the ladder slipped under his hands. It got harder as he moved down and the light from the street couldn't penetrate far enough to illuminate the next rung down. He was about to wonder just how deep this went when his foot hit the ground. He turned and faced the long dark passage, and prayed he found Yuri alive at the end. He started to take a deep breath, stopped when he got a strong whiff of sewage, and set his face in a frown. With his sword at his hip, he started down the silent tunnel.

There were very few lights down here, just enough to see the edge of the path. When he walked right past them, there was enough to see the high arches along the walls as well. The important thing for now was to keep his feet on the narrow stone path along the edge of the river. His boots splashed through puddles, which he hoped were just water. Rats scratched and squeaked ahead, just out of sight. His skin crawled and he suppressed a shudder.  _I'm doing this for Yuri_.

How was he supposed to find Carter and Yuri down here? The sewers lurked under almost every street in Zaphias; he couldn't possibly search them all. He picked a direction when he came to an intersection and hoped he was headed in the right way. There was no way to track the passage of time down here, but he estimated it had been nearly half an hour by now. Every time something moved in the corner of his eye he reached for his sword, but it was always a rat. Dripping water echoed eerily through the tunnels and after all this time he still hadn't grown accustomed to the smell.

He hadn't grown accustomed to the cold, either. His fingers were icy and he wasn't sure which shivers were from rats skittering past too close and which from the chill. His eyes had somewhat adjusted by now, so he could see farther ahead. Too bad there wasn't anything to see. He had gone deep enough underground that he never got close to the openings to daylight, assuming Carter would want to remain underground. Of course, even if he did pass an exit, it would be dark outside by now anyway. He'd gone up more than a few flights of stairs, though, and he estimated that by this point he was in the middle of the public quarter.

Yuri had to be down here somewhere. Could he possibly be wrong? As another half hour passed, he considered leaving and going back to the castle to talk it over with Estelle. The problem there was that she would insist coming with him, and he could not abide bringing her into danger like this. He'd give it a little longer. He was still heading up, so when he reached the royal quarter, he would exit the sewer if he hadn't found any trace of Carter or Yuri yet.

As he trudged through the cold and dark, he went over his plan. He could hardly hope to rescue Yuri by barging in and asking nicely. If possible, he should try to find Yuri without alerting Carter to his presence. He didn't know what condition Yuri was going to be in, so he had to consider the possibility that Yuri would be unable to walk and would need to be carried out. That would hinder any escape attempt, so if he had the chance, he should incapacitate Carter first. He had handcuffs on him just in case, so he could use that. As much as he hated to think it, though, he might actually have to leave by himself once he found Yuri. Once he knew exactly where Yuri was and what condition he was in, he could come back with reinforcements.

He was about to walk up another flight of stairs when his foot came down on something squishy. Curious, he crouched to examine it and prayed it wasn't a dead rat. To his relief, he found a soggy mitten lying at the foot of the stairs. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but it seemed it be purple or dark blue. It was far too small to fit his own hand; it must belong to a child. With a pang he remembered Tabitha Zimmerman's single bare hand when they'd found her. He'd found her mitten's lost twin, which must mean she had been down here. He was on the right track, at least. It had probably fallen off as she was dragged down the stairs.

He had renewed vigour now that he was certainly on the right track, and hurried up the stairs. Near the top, he spotted a stain in the dim light. A closer examination revealed it to be blood, and he had a vivid image of a bloodied body dragged this way. Further along, the blood would have dried up since corpses didn't bleed, but he was close enough now that the victims had still been spilling blood as he carried them to the dump sites. Yuri had to be nearby.

His pace quickened. Part of him was terrified to find Yuri, because for now he could still firmly hold the hope that he'd get Yuri out of here alive. He could very well get confirmation that Yuri was already dead within a few minutes, and not knowing was better than confirmation of that. He followed smears of blood along the ground as he continued through what was probably the royal quarter by now. He'd reach the section of tunnel Yuri and Estelle had used soon. He walked past a crumbling wall, and jumped as a rat crawled out of the blackness on the other side. It stared at him and he took a few quick steps backward. Rats were so  _gross_.

After the rat ran away, he hurried on. At a crossroad he decided to go straight, and then up a few steps to a narrow passage. He'd been walking for about ten minutes when he realized it had been a long time since he'd seen smears of blood on the ground. He slowed to a halt to consider this. Maybe he should have gone the other way at the crossroads? When was the last time he saw blood? He was moving so hurriedly, he couldn't remember. His haste to find Yuri quickly was causing him to make mistakes, and a mistake could end with Yuri dead. He had to think about this logically. When Carter had brought him down here, he'd been blindfolded, but there must be some clue he could remember.

Memories poured through his mind and he searched for anything useful. The ceiling had been low, based on how little slack he'd had to pull his wrists. That was unlike the sewer, which had high and arched ceilings. He also recalled it being very cool and dry, and didn't remember the sound of running water. He certainly wouldn't have guessed he was in the sewers. Actually… what if he hadn't been?

Flynn turned and dashed back the way he had come. He ran all the way back to the crumbled wall he'd passed earlier and bent to examine the broken stone edge. With a grin, he spotted a smudge of blood. The victims hadn't been killed in the sewer after all; it merely made a convenient transportation route. No, Carter had taken them to a place he was much more comfortable, a place he'd explored since he was a small child, a place hardly anyone ever went, as opposed to the sewers that were frequently maintained.

Flynn climbed through the opening and into the neighbouring tunnel system, and then continued his journey through the catacombs.  _How fitting_ , he thought grimly, glancing at the skeletons lining the walls.  _Who would notice a few extra dead bodies down here?_

The catacombs were darker than the sewers, without frequent lights to guide the way. They were more of a maze, too, and frequently he had to take a stab in the dark and hope it led in the right direction. He had probably circled around a few times, but with all this darkness, who could tell? His only company were the dry, dusty skeletons lining the alcoves. He knew for sure he was in the royal quarter now because the few times he was able to make out any details on the bodies, they came with fine jewellery and tattered remnants of velvet robes. What was the point of burying someone with gold and jewels? They were hardly going to need them anymore, and selling just one of those silver rings could feed a family in the lower quarter for a year.

There were more important things to worry about. Ahead, soft orange light filtered around a corner. He slowed his steps and walked with utmost silence, holding his breath as he peeked around the edge. The light leaked out of an iron-barred door. He swallowed and put his hand to his sword; that had to be where Carter was. He remembered a metal door quite clearly, although he hadn't realized it was just bars.

The doorway itself was surrounded by stone pillars carved into the wall, which were topped by the fiery symbol from Zaphias' barrier. None of the rest of the sections of the catacombs were separated by a barred door, and with a start he realized this must be the entrance to the royal crypt. All that time he'd sat in his office worrying about Yuri, and he had been right below his feet.

Beyond that door were buried emperors and princesses. Carter must have taken the key from his father, who managed the catacombs. There was a small, tightly wound staircase in that section that led directly into the castle, which gave Carter two different options for sneaking in.

How he'd gotten into the castle didn't matter right now. All that Flynn had time to concentrate on was getting to Yuri. His heart pounded with trepidation and he slowly edged toward the door. He couldn't wait to get there and find Yuri alive, but he also wanted to run in the other direction and let himself live in doubt because of the fear he'd find something worse. He had to be brave for Yuri's sake, so he forced himself to approach the door. He pressed against the pillar and then leaned his face around to glance through the bars. A lantern sat on the floor, but he didn't see anybody. Even the bodies in the alcoves were enclosed in sarcophagi in this section. Beyond the door was a broad path that led straight to another illuminated room, but Flynn couldn't make any details out from here.

The iron door creaked open, and he let it hang ajar as he proceeded. After taking only a few steps, he paused when his foot nearly came down in a reddish-brown stain that took up the entire floor. He stared for a second and shuddered; he had a feeling he'd found the murder site. He glanced to the low stone ceiling and saw a deadbolt driven into the stone and took a wild guess where he'd been tied. Something else caught his eye, and for a second he thought it was a cobwebs or animal fur of some sort. When he crouched to get a closer look, he found long, dark strands of hair kicked against the wall. Some of the hair was caked together with dried blood, but for the most part it was loose and ragged. He tried to contain another shudder, because he was certain it was Yuri's.

 _Yuri must be so pissed off about that._ He tried to keep his spirits up as he walked along the hallway by imagining Yuri kicking and shouting and making life hell for his captor.

He neared the room at the end, and found that it was a wide, round chamber with an arched roof. On the other side he spotted the stairs that led up to the castle. The walls were lined with the extravagantly designed sarcophagi of former emperors, and between each vertical section of alcoves were lit candles that cast the room in flickering orange light. Most important of all, a human figure lay in on the floor in the middle of the room. His hair was ragged, his wrists and ankles were bound, he was naked above the waist and every inch of exposed skin carried some sort of mark or injury. Even though his back was to Flynn, he was so obviously Yuri that Flynn's heart leapt and he quickened his pace.

Just as he reached the entrance to the room, another figure stepped into view. "Not so fast, Flynn."

Flynn came to a stop. Dammit, so much for that plan.

Carter strolled into the room and came to a stop next to Yuri. "Well, I'm glad you finally found me. If Yuri felt up to talking, I'm sure he'd express his pleasure, too. Right, Yuri?" He slammed his foot into Yuri's chest and Flynn winced in sympathy. Yuri let out a low moan but otherwise didn't move.

"I'm here," Flynn said slowly. He spoke carefully to keep his voice from shaking. He wanted to look Carter in the eyes but he kept glancing to Yuri instead. "You got what you want. Now let Yuri go."

Carter laughed. "I'm not stopping him." He stepped aside and gestured to the stairs with the knife in his hand, which glinted in the candlelight. "There's the exit, Yuri. I unlocked the door, even.  Go ahead and make your way out."

"Allow me to carry him out. On my honour, I swear to return to face you alone."

Carter raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"He has nothing to do with this. Your problem is with me, personally, so I ask that you stop victimizing innocent people and face me on equal terms. You were a knight once - have you no honour?"

Carter smirked. "Honour is a good way to get yourself killed. Well, you're right about one thing: I have no need of Yuri anymore. Are you sure you still want him back?"

He grabbed Yuri under one armpit and hauled him upright. Yuri's eyes flickered and turned to Flynn and he swayed on his shaky feet, relying on Carter's grip to stay standing. But he  _was_  upright, standing at least partially with his own strength, and his eyes were open. He was definitely alive, even if his mouth was gagged, his face was a mask of pain, and he struggled to keep his head from lolling onto his chest.

"I feel bad returning something broken." He supported Yuri with one hand, while he trailed the trip of the knife along Yuri's cheek with the other. Yuri barely even reacted to the blood seeping down his face.

Flynn's heart swelled until it threatened to break out of his chest. "Yes. It's fine. Let me take him out of here."

"You still want him, even though he's probably going to have some ugly scars?"

"I don't care about that." He met Yuri's eyes instead of Carter's, and tried to convey how deeply sorry he was for getting him involved and for taking so long to find him. "Just let him go. Please."

Carter smiled. "Aw, that's so sweet. It looks like you really do care about him after all. If that's the case, I can't imagine how sad you'll be when I do this." He slammed the knife into Yuri's back. For one second, Yuri's eyes flashed wide with shock, and then his knees crumpled and he fell lifelessly to the ground.

" _No_!" The word ripped out of Flynn's throat before he could stop it.  _No, no, no, this can't happen_ …

Carter laughed and kicked Yuri solidly in the back, rolling him onto his chest. "Oops. I think he's dead."

 _Dead_. No. Fuck.  _No_. He'd come all this way and found Yuri alive, but now… It couldn't end like this! Icy numbness encased him as he stared at Yuri, the blood pooling on his lower back, his slack limbs and blank face.  _No, no, no, oh please no._

Carted stepped over Yuri, wiping his blood-slicked blade on the hem of his shirt. "You look upset."

Heat flared through him, melting the numbness. There was no time for cold grief because Carter had lit a spark in him that already turned into burning rage. He shot forward, all thoughts of justice abandoned. All he cared about was making Carter pay. His fist slammed into Carter's jaw and he heard something crack. Good! That one was for Victoria Muller.

Carter slashed his knife at Flynn, who dodged it and punched him in the side. That was for Tomas Platt. He had a second to whip out his sword and slashed at his opponent. Carter jumped backward and dodged, then circled around him. He dashed down the hallway toward the iron door.

"Don't run away from me!" Flynn roared in hot pursuit. Clear thoughts couldn't cross his brain at this point. He'd shut that ability down in a defence mechanism to keep from having to think about Yuri. If he seriously thought about the shock on Yuri's face when the knife sank into him, or how limp and still has body was on the ground, he'd crumple into a sobbing heap. He didn't have time for that, so the only thought he allowed into his mind was the drive to murder Carter.

Carter disappeared into the shadows between the lantern and the candlelit room, and then Flynn tripped over a leg. His chin slammed into the ground and he dropped his sword. Carter lunged at him just as Flynn rolled onto his back and jammed his knee up, tossing Carter aside. Without reaching for his sword, Flynn tackled him and smashed his fist into Carter's face. That one was for Terrance Boas.

Carter just laughed as blood poured form his nose. "What's wrong, Flynn?" In an icy, mocking voice he added, "Did you  _love_  him?"

Flynn screamed something, but he wasn't sure what. He grabbed Carter's shoulders and slammed his head into the ground. That one was for Abigail Bogs.

A knee smashed his stomach and Flynn fell to the side with a gasp for air.

"You're so angry! Is it because I killed your boyfriend?"

Carter straddled him and pinned his throat to the ground. He left enough room for Flynn to breathe, but only just. "Do you want to know  _why_  I killed him?"

Flynn clawed at Carter's hand while the tip of the knife rested against the corner of his eye. "I want you to go to hell," he seethed.

Carter smirked. "It's because I wanted to see your face, and boy was it satisfying. All that shock and despair… I don't know if I've ever seen a face in that much pain before, and I've killed a lot of people. You're making a pretty nice face right now, actually." He leaned in close and in a low voice murmured, "So, Flynn… how much  _did_  you love him?"

He'd made the mistake of leaning too close, so Flynn took the chance to punch his face. That was for Tabitha Zimmerman.

Carter shouted and brought his knife down. Flynn winced and turned his face away, just in time to avoid a blade to his eye. As it was, the knife slashed across his right eye, splitting his eyebrow, grazing the lid, and cutting his cheek. Carter had loosened his grip on Flynn's throat, and Flynn managed to grab the collar of his shirt and roll him over. Carter's shoulder hit the ground and the knife left his fingers.

"You  _bastard_!" Flynn screamed. He couldn't see out of his right eye because it was caked shut with blood.

Carter's laugh echoed through the tunnels. "Do you want to kill me, Flynn?"

 _Yes_.

He couldn't.

 _But I really want to_.

He dealt with his confusion by punching Carter again, this time for Michael Hart and again for Madison Rhodes.

"Do you want to hear about Yuri? I feel bad, since I got to spend so much more time with him right before he died."

"Shut up," Flynn hissed, punching him for Ernest Carter. He couldn't tell if the wetness in his eyes was tears or blood.

"He held up pretty strong at first. By this morning, though, he let out a lot of whimpers and moans."

Flynn smashed Carter's head against the ground, making him woozy. That was for Kat. "I told you to shut up!"

Carter deserved to die. When Flynn brought him back to justice, he'd be sentenced to death for sure. What was the harm in taking care of this now?

No. He couldn't do that. He had to deal with Carter according to the law.

"Aw, you're crying," Carter slurred, still dazed from his head injury. "It's because I murdered your boyfriend, right?"

 _I'm the commandant. No one has higher authority than me. I_ am _the law_. Carter's dropped knife was just a foot away, and he snatched it off the ground.  _Kill him_.

His fist shook and he held the knife over Carter's cackling face. Blood dripped off his chin and down his cheek. Every fibre of his being urged him to bring the knife down and put an end to this monster.

He wasn't the law. Not really. Someone had to keep watch over the watchmen.

The tunnel was so dark he could barely even see Carter's face. There was no one else down here. No one would ever know. He could say Carter attacked him and Flynn had to kill him in self-defence and it would only partially be a lie.

_He tortured and murdered Yuri; why are you even hesitating!?_

What would Yuri say? Yuri had said he would keep watch over Flynn. He'd keep Flynn on the right path, just as Flynn would keep Yuri on his. They balanced each other out and would always keep watch for each other. Yuri would be devastated if Flynn took this path.

"What are you waiting for!?" Carter yelled. "Finish it, you coward! I didn't pussyfoot around this much when I murdered that little girl. It'll feel great! Like when I killed Yuri and his whole body went limp like a ragdoll."

It didn't matter what Yuri would say, because Yuri was dead. He couldn't watch Flynn anymore. Every nerve screamed to kill Carter. His heart throbbed and blood rushed in his ears and the entire world narrowed to just this cold, dark tunnel surrounded by dead bodies. So many people had suffered and died down here -  _including Yuri_  - wasn't it right to make Carter the last of them? He was in too much pain to be strong right now.

But… wasn't that the most important time to be strong? He just wanted to kill this monster and put an end to all the suffering he'd caused. Was it worth it to betray his strongest convictions to do that?

 _No one would ever know_.

Yuri would. He would always be with Flynn. Even if… if he was gone, Flynn would carry him in his heart for the rest of his life. He'd always be watching, and Flynn didn't want to imagine the look in his eyes if Flynn took Carter's life.

He threw the knife to the ground, grabbed Carter's shoulders, and rolled him onto his stomach. He took the handcuffs off his belt and cuffed Carter's wrists. "Timothy Carter," he managed to get his voice as even as possible, "you are under arrest for nine counts of murder." That was for Yuri.

"What? No!" Carter struggled to pull his hands free. "What are you doing!?"

"You will tried by a jury and sentenced according to imperial law." Flynn grabbed the knife and stood slowly. He'd overcome his rage, but with it gone, he felt drained. With heavy steps, he walked back to Yuri.

Behind him, Carter continued shouting. "You bastard! You arrogant bastard! You think you're better than me?! I'll kill you!"

Flynn ignored him and fell to his knees at Yuri's side. Maybe… there was a chance he could still be alive. The blood pooling on his back was dark red, which meant Carter hadn't hit any arteries. There was so much blood it poured over Yuri's waist, but that could be survivable, right? With a shaking hand, Flynn reached for Yuri's neck to feel for a pulse. His hopes jolted when he felt frantic pounding, but it lasted only a second before he realized it was his own. He was too panicked and too shaky to try to find a heartbeat that would be barely a flutter at this point.

"It's gonna be ok, Yuri," he mumbled, cutting the ropes around Yuri's wrists and ankles. Yuri's hands were smeared with blood, but he couldn't tell how much was from the wound on his back and what was old stains from the missing finger. He untied the gag around Yuri's mouth and tried to use the cloth to stop the bleeding. It was too small to make any difference. A sob rose in his throat as he couldn't stop himself from thinking how pale and cool Yuri's skin was. "I'm gonna get you to Estelle. You're g-going to be ok."

As gently as he could, he pulled Yuri upright, swung Yuri's arm around is own neck, and pulled him onto his shoulder. After standing and shifting Yuri into position, he heard a dull click, but Yuri didn't react so he kept going.

Flynn carried Yuri up the spiral stairs as quickly as he could. His steps pounded in a rhythm his mind turned into  _please-be-a-live-please-be-a-live_. He barely even noticed the blood still gushing down his face or the fact that he could only see out of one eye. He kicked the door open and stumbled into a large room on the bottom floor of the castle. There was a statue of one of the earliest emperors in the middle, but Flynn didn't have time to pay any more attention to his surroundings.

"Help!" he called. "Knights! I need help!" He heard running footsteps and then dropped to his knees and lowered Yuri to the ground again, which was accompanied by another muffled crunch.

"Commandant!" Knights ran toward him. "Commandant, what happened? Are we under attack?!"

Flynn took a deep breath, still processing that he was out of those dark tunnels. "Someone send for Lady Estellise. Hurry! This man needs urgent medical care. You two, go into the catacombs. Timothy Carter is incapacitated in the tunnel straight ahead."

"Right away, sir!"

Knights ran off while Flynn knelt by Yuri's side, holding his clammy, lifeless hand and praying Estelle's magic would be enough to work a miracle.

"Sir," one of the remaining knights said, crouching next to him. "You should head to the infirmary yourself. Your eye is bleeding quite badly."

Flynn shook his head. "No… I need to stay with him."

"With all due respect, sir, there's nothing more you can do for him and Lady Estellise will be too preoccupied with trying to save him to have time to heal you. You need to get your eye looked at. It might be seriously damaged."

The knight had a point. Now that he had time to sit still a think, the stabbing pain he'd ignored in the tunnels had a chance to catch up to him. He also had time to notice the bruises forming on his throat, his bloody chin, and numerous other bruises that had happened during the scuffle.

"I'll watch over Lowell, sir," the other knight said. "Lady Estellise will be here soon. You go take care of yourself."

Flynn inspected the knight, though it was difficult with only one eye and severe pain in the other distracting him. The knights were right, and when it came down to it, he trusted them to take care of Yuri. "All right."

The knight helped him up and guided him out of the room. As he reached the corridor, Flynn looked back at Yuri one last time.  _Please be ok_.


	17. Numb

_Of Love and Loss - The True Story of Commandant Scifo's Secret Affair_

_By Angie Klapp_

_There are few people in Zaphias who do not yet know about the torrid love affair between our own Commandant Flynn Scifo and the guildsman from Dahngrest, Yuri Lowell. But how many of us truly know who Flynn Scifo is, and what the depths of this relationship really are? In an exclusive personal interview with the commandant, I learned that their relationship is so much more than a rushed affair. Flynn Scifo and Yuri Lowell have a long history that spans almost their entire lives, and the real question that should be on everybody's minds is not where the commandant's loyalties lie but whether these star-crossed lovers will get the happy ending they deserve._

_The tale begins in Zaphias' lower quarter almost sixteen years ago. At only six years old, the boys who would grow up to be the Commandant of the Imperial Knights and a leader of a prestigious Union guild met for the first time._

_"It was hardly love at first sight," the commandant said of their first meeting. In fact, it was quite the opposite! "He stole my muffin… I chased after him. I called him a 'buttface'." Their days of enmity didn't last long, however. Only a few days later, Lowell showed his true colours by rescuing the commandant from bullies in order to pay him back for the muffin. From that point on, they were close friends. When the commandant realized that Lowell was an orphan and had nowhere to stay, he invited him into his own home out of the kindness of his heart._

_Lowell and the commandant have remained close for the rest of their lives. Bonds of friendship strengthen through difficulty, and they had more than enough of that growing up in the lower quarter. The commandant tragically lost his father at a young age. Finath Scifo was killed in action while serving in the Knights when the commandant was eight years old. Only two years later, his mother passed away from illness, leaving both boys without a family and without a home._

_"I don't think I would have survived without Yuri," the commandant confessed. "In my grief, he was my rock. I was lost after my mother died, but he taught me how to live on the street and how to feed myself. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say I would have died that first winter without him."_

_For the rest of their teen years, they lived together, scrounging to survive. When they were old enough, they both enlisted in the Imperial Knights, inspired by Finath Scifo's example. "We made a promise," the commandant said. "We were going to fight to make people smile. We were both determined to right the wrongs we'd seen our people suffer through in the lower quarter, and make the empire into a better place for everyone."_

_Yuri Lowell did not last long in the Knights, however. It quickly became apparent that his temperament was not suited for the Knighthood. Lowell left the Knights, while the commandant continued rising through the ranks with impressive skill and dedication. Several years passed, during which time they remained separated. I questioned whether this was an emotionally difficult period for him, but the commandant said, "No, not terrible. I was of course concerned about Yuri and I missed spending time with him, but we were both adults and I trusted him to take care of himself on his own. We have always supported each other, but never been dependant."_

_This was clearly the case, as even without his best friend's support, Flynn Scifo rose to the rank of lieutenant after only three years in the Knights. It was when he was a lieutenant that he ran into his old friend again. Yuri Lowell had left Zaphias with Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein._

_"I want to clarify that," the commandant said, and he stared at me very intently. "I fear there has been a lot of misunderstanding surrounding Yuri's criminal record. It is true that Yuri was charged with kidnapping the princess and then had those charges dropped. It was not the case that Lady Estellise grew to care about him after spending enough time with her captor. She left the castle entirely of her own will, and happened to encounter him on her way out. Yuri accompanied her, and protected her from monsters outside the city. The charge was a misunderstanding from the very beginning."_

_Lowell and the commandant met several times during the Adephagos crisis, once again supporting each other's endeavours and working together to save our world._

_"I could not have stopped the Adephagos without Yuri's help. He was integral to the entire operation. Every person in the world owes him their life."_

_While the crisis was brought down, other things flared up. It was during this time that the commandant realized the true extent of his feelings for Lowell. For many months following the crisis, he did nothing about his feelings. The commandant was always far too committed to his job protecting the empire to spend any thought on romance._

_So what changed? In the end, it came down to a cat. The commandant adopted a stray cat off the street several months ago, but she was tragically killed by the Heartbreaker, whom we have now identified as Timothy Carter. After finding his beloved companion killed, he sought comfort in the arms of the man he loved. It really goes to show that no matter who you are, whether you're from the empire or the Union, the embrace of a loved one is the best medicine for a broken heart._

_They 'officially' began a relationship mere days before the information was revealed to the public, but the deep bond of love has existed between them for so much longer. "I don't know if that is 'true love', but it is the strongest love I have ever felt for another person." It goes without saying that their relationship is far from traditional. Due to their differing political ties, they have agreed to remain separate and only are able to see each other when one or the other has time to visit. Despite that, the commandant is confident their bond can survive the distance._

_The truly tragic part is that they had so little time to be together. Only a week after initiating his relationship with the commandant, Yuri Lowell was abducted by Timothy Carter. He has still not been found, and hope is dwindling. I beseech anyone to imagine how they would feel if their spouse or partner was lost or suffering, and then you might begin to understand the pain the commandant has endured since the night Lowell disappeared. So far, none of Carter's victims have been found alive. Will the commandant's lifelong love story have a tragic ending? We can only hope not._

_Yuri Lowell is twenty-one years old, 5'11", with long dark hair and grey eyes. He was last seen on Orson Street three nights ago. Anyone with any knowledge of his whereabouts is encouraged to speak to the Knights, and perhaps we can help give this story a happy ending._

_If Timothy Carter is reading this article, the commandant had only one message to send: "Wherever you are, I will find you. You should pray that Yuri is still alive when I do."_

Flynn lowered the paper.

"Well?" Angie watched him expectantly.

"It's a little sappy."

"People like sap."

Flynn was too tired to argue. She really had done her best to make both him and Yuri look sympathetic, and that was all he could ask. He set it on his desk and nodded, "It's fine."

"Excellent!" She grinned broadly. Her smiled slipped a little when she added, "Of course, I wrote this before the events of last night. I'll have to update the ending." Her face fell and she sighed. "What a pity. It's not a very satisfying ending at all."

Flynn looked at her sharply. "I don't want to hear another word about what 'should' have happened to Yuri just so you could sell more papers."

She leaned back and pulled her paper close. "Fine, I know you're not interested in the business side of my job. All I'm saying is a picture of lovers embracing with a big kiss after so much hardship would have made a fantastic front page."

It was a good thing Flynn wasn't holding anything, because he would have snapped it. "Enough!"

She stood up. "Yes, yes, obviously that isn't possible. I'll see myself out."

She left, and Flynn slumped forward with his head in his arms. It had been a long morning, and most of it had been spent in meetings. It turned out that arresting the son of a noble with lots of friends on the Council was a messy situation, even if he had murdered so many people. Carter was in the cells now, awaiting trial. Flynn was going to do everything in his power to make sure he was tried to the full extent of the law. He could be shown no mercy, not after everything he'd done. When Flynn thought about Yuri, he still struggled to hold himself together. This was a problem, because talking about what had happened to Yuri came up in every meeting with the Council, the Knights, Trout, and reporters. He knew he couldn't cry in front of any of these people, so he was glad he'd gotten most of it out of his system last night.

With a heavy sigh, he sat up and gently pressed his fingers against his sore eye. The wound had been stitched closed and the blood cleaned up, but it still throbbed with pain whenever he moved his eyebrow. He hadn't seen much of Estelle last night, so he'd had nothing but apple gels and traditional first aid to treat the wound.

He still had work to do. Thankfully, Sodia had volunteered to take on a greater load of paperwork in addition to her usual work, so that all he'd have to do was throw his signature on forms she already filled out and verified. With her taking care of that, he had some time to deal with Carter's case. After arresting him last night, the Council had approved putting him back in control of the investigation to do the follow-up. If Flynn had been in a better mood, he would have felt great satisfaction at being proven right and seeing Trout's face. As it was, he was just mad he couldn't prosecute Trout for getting Yuri into that situation, since Yuri had  _technically_  gone willingly.

He left his office and made his way to Estelle's room. After knocking, he had to wait almost five minutes for her to answer the door and when she did, her hair was messy, she wore a pale blue nightgown, and her eyes were heavy.

"I'm sorry; did I wake you?"

"It's ok," she said softly. "It's almost afternoon by now. Come in."

He stepped into her room, and she embraced him the moment the door closed. "Oh, Flynn."

"I know." He clung to her tightly, wishing he could be stronger for her.

"I've slept all morning, since I didn't get any sleep last night. I've tried so hard to be strong, but I… I just couldn't stop crying."

He rubbed her back. "Shh. I did the exact same thing. There's nothing wrong with crying."

She nodded with her face still pressed against him.

"Do the others know?" He felt guilty when he suddenly remembered he hadn't gone down to the lower quarter to tell Repede, Karol, Judith, and Raven what had happened. It was selfish, but he'd been so preoccupied with his own feelings to think of doing that.

Estelle nodded again. "Rita went. I'm going down to meet them after I wake up, which I guess is now."

"If you want to go back to sleep-"

"No." She pulled away and rubbed her eyes. "I'm tired of hiding in my bedroom. I want to be with the others. You should come, too. I know you're not as close to them, but… we all love Yuri."

Flynn managed a small smile. "Perhaps later. I still have some business to take care of. I need to pick up some of Carter's papers at the hospital, and I was told Zagi is making a fuss in the dungeons. Carter was brought in last night so he's insisting he gets to fight Yuri today."

"Ok. If you need me, I'll be in the lower quarter."

She left to get dressed, and Flynn went to deal with Zagi. He really didn't want to be in a room with Carter at the moment, but it was unavoidable. At the jail cells, the knight on guard waved him through without a question and he walked down the aisle to the cell where Zagi was pacing around with agitation.

"You!" Zagi shouted and ran at the bars. "Where is Yuri Lowell?! We had a deal! I get to fight Yuri as soon as  _he_ ," he pointed through the bars over Flynn's shoulder, "is behind bars. Well, he's here, so where's my fight?"

"The deal is off," Flynn said stiffly.

"What?!" Zagi grabbed the bars and rattled them. "You can't do that. We had a deal!"

"Yuri never agreed to the deal. Lady Estellise made it in his stead and so Yuri cannot be held to it. Besides, Yuri is…" he took a short breath. "You can't fight him."

Another voice slithered into the conversation. "What's wrong, Flynn? Where's Yuri?"

Flynn bristled but refused to turn around. He wasn't going to talk to Carter or even pay attention to his presence. To Zagi, he said, "The empire thanks you for your contributions to the case. Your trial will be held next week to decide your punishment for the scores of murders you have committed."

"I don't care about that! Where is Yuri? Why can't I fight him!? I know he isn't a coward or I wouldn't have picked him as my rival."

Carter laughed. "You're so grumpy, Flynn. What, still sore with me because I killed your boyfriend?"

Flynn's fingers twitched for his sword.  _Don't let him get satisfaction from egging you on_.

"What are you talking about?" Zagi looked between Flynn and Carter. "Yuri Lowell? Dead?"

"I killed him myself."

"Yuri Lowell would never be killed by someone like you!"

Flynn wasn't sure what to make of Zagi's expression. It wasn't quite grief, because Flynn doubted Zagi possessed the expressive capacity to feel that kind of true emotion, but he did seem honestly sad at the thought of Yuri being dead. 

"Good day." He didn't want to spend any more time down here than he had to, and without another word, he left. Carted shouted after him, taunting him about Yuri while Zagi screamed at him that there was no way he'd actually done it. Flynn ignored them and hurried out.

The interaction with Carter had rattled him more than he was willing to admit. He hadn't seen the man since leaving him behind in the catacombs, and he didn't envy the idea of spending more time with him. Flynn didn't like to think about just how close he'd come to taking Carter's life. He was infinitely glad that he hadn't, because if he'd let that knife come down, he would never be able to look at himself in a mirror again.

He stopped in his room to grab his coat and hat, and then left for the hospital. The Council wanted Carter's medical file to prove he really was ill. Flynn hesitated to get it, since anything that gave the jury sympathy for Carter was bad, but doing things by the law meant full disclosure. He'd been told to fetch that file, so that's where he went.

He made the walk quickly. The wound over his eye was still raw and the cold wind made it sting. If he was a vain person he'd be concerned about a scar causing a gap in his eyebrow where hair wouldn't grow, but he was just grateful he'd turned his head in time to avoid serious damage to his eye. He could still see, and that's all that mattered.

When he reached Princess Elisabetta Hospital, he kicked snow off his boots and entered the lobby. The warmth was a relief, but the mixture of apples and disinfectant made his nose twitch. Spending too much time here would surely make him miserable.

"Good afternoon, Commandant," the receptionist said. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, hello." He forced a smile, which wasn't very convincing. The receptionist was aware of the situation, so she didn't take it personally. "I have orders from the Council to take the file for Timothy Carter. It's needed as evidence."

"Of course. Give me a moment." She opened a drawer and flipped through the files. As she went, she said, "I just can't believe what happened. I met Timothy when he first came in; he seemed like such a nice person. I guess that goes to show you can never really know people."

"Yes, that's true," he said disinterestedly.

"Ah, here we go." She pulled the file out of the drawer. "Here you go!"

He flipped through it just to make sure it was correct and then said, "Thank you." It was weird seeing Carter's name in a medical report like any other patient. He really could have been just an average guy, but there was something wrong in his head along with his lungs. Maybe he'd been like this even before his terminal diagnosis, or maybe the smoke had rotted his brain, but he'd turned into a monster. Flynn would never stop being grateful that he hadn't become one himself while taking him down.

There was nothing else he had to do for the next few hours with Sodia taking care of his paperwork. The Council didn't need this file right away, so instead of leaving the hospital, he took a turn and walked down a hallway. He took a few more turns deep into the hospital, until he stopped outside a single room at the end of the corridor. His hand rested on the doorknob for nearly a minute before he gained the courage to open the door.

He walked into the room slowly. His boots were still wet and left footprints on the hardwood floors and white curtains hung still over the window. Supposedly, the pastel blue walls were supposed to be calming, but Flynn had never been more nervous than when he walked to the chair next to the bed and slowly sat down, and then breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Hey, Yuri."

There was no answer. He hadn't been expecting one, since Yuri was asleep. "I think Zagi was honestly upset to think you might be dead. I don't know if you'll find that endearing or frustrating."

He tried hard to act casual, but as he stared at Yuri's ashen face, he couldn't stop remembering just how close Yuri's brush with death had been. His heart had actually stopped three times during the night, and only Estelle keeping constant vigilance all night long to quickly cast Resurrection had let him survive to morning. Even now, the doctors said he would only "probably" survive the rest of the day. This morning, the doctor at the castle infirmary had declared that Yuri was too seriously injured to be properly taken care of there, and he needed to be transferred to a proper hospital.

Flynn wasn't entirely sure what the problem was, only that it was apparently serious. He'd spoken with a slew of doctors and nurses last night and this morning, but they were frustratingly vague. By the time he actually got a chance to eavesdrop on a conversation to figure out exactly what was wrong with Yuri, he'd been without sleep for so long he hadn't understood most of the terminology. He'd picked out a few words here and there, like "looks like T8 complete," "severe hypovolemic shock," and "herniated vertebral disc," but nobody explained what any of these meant. All he knew was that they'd worn dire expressions while discussing them and when Flynn asked if Yuri would be ok, the doctor had patted him on the shoulder and said, "The important thing to remember is that he is alive."

Something was very wrong and nobody was willing to tell him what it was. Flynn was left sitting helplessly by Yuri's bedside, taking comfort in his slow, shallow breaths. The doctor was right; Yuri was alive. The question was what condition he'd be in when he finally woke up, and it was this uncertainty that terrified Flynn.

"I'm going to sit with you for a little while. Don't worry about my job; Sodia's taking care of everything." He had no idea if Yuri could hear him, but maybe the sound of his voice would reach his subconscious and calm him down. Flynn wasn't too worried about Yuri's deep slumber, because the doctors had induced it on purpose. Something about keeping him sedated to give his body time to heal, and to keep him from moving around and hurting himself further. He'd made one of the nurses promise to tell him when they were going to take him off sedatives so he could be there when Yuri woke up.

He hated seeing Yuri like this. Someone as vibrant and outgoing as Yuri shouldn't be lying in a hospital bed, covered in hastily-healed scars and inflamed skin. Estelle had put all her effort in just keeping him alive last night, so there wasn't time to heal all Yuri's smaller, non-life-threatening injuries. He looked so small, and very un-Yuri. His choppy hair probably had something to do with that. It was shorter than Rita's, and put Flynn in mind of how he'd looked when they were young children.

"I bet you're so mad about your hair, huh? And you're definitely not going to be happy when you find yourself in a hospital gown."

He smiled sadly and brushed one of Yuri's short strands behind his ear. Flynn hadn't brought anything to do while visiting, but the last few days had been endlessly hectic and stressful, so the chance to sit quietly and listen to Yuri breathe was a welcome break.

* * *

Yuri slowly opened his eyes and saw darkness. The world was dark and blurry and his head and torso dimly ached. Where the hell was he? There was something hard under his back and all he could see was a dark ceiling. All he knew was that he hurt and he was in an unfamiliar bed in a strange room. Was this Carter's doing? He needed to get out of here and find Flynn. Carter might come back any minute now and Yuri didn't plan to be lying here when he did.

He told his body to sit up, but that didn't happen. His arms were heavier than lead and his neck strained just to lift an inch off the pillow. This was enough to turn the fuzzy background dizziness into full-blown spinning and the world shifted out of view.

When he opened his eyes again, he had no way of knowing if he'd passed out for a few seconds or a few hours. Keeping himself conscious was like trying to tread water with an anchor strapped to his feet. He tried to sit up again, and muscles in his chest flexed against a leather strap holding him down. Shit, he was restrained - this was Carter's doing after all. Through the haze of grogginess that threatened to pull him back to sleep, he landed on one coherent thought: he had to escape.

He slowly managed to drag his arms to his chest, vaguely wondering why those weren't restrained, too. He fumbled for the strap pinning him down and felt a buckle under his shirt. He picked at that for a few minutes before finally realizing he wasn't going to get it undone through the fabric of his shirt, and it took another few minutes of staring at the dark ceiling in dumb confusion before figuring out he wasn't strapped to the bed. This strap was connected to the something hard underneath him and held it in place. It was also probably why he had so much difficulty sitting up, because the solid wooden board kept him from bending. What was Carter doing? Was this some weird new torture method? He had to get out of here.

Yuri squirmed and tried to push himself upright, but that wasn't happening. He was too heavy, too weak, and too sore to make any headway trying to sit straight up. It was only his upper half that was sore, though. Compared to the aching, tired muscles consuming his torso, he couldn't feel his legs at all. He'd just swing them off the bed and crawl out of here before Carter showed up.

Maybe a minute later, though he was too groggy to know for sure, nothing had happened. He told his legs to crawl off the bed, but they didn't respond. It wasn't even like when he'd tried to sit up and found his tired muscles straining to overcome weakness, because at least then he'd felt himself trying. His legs didn't move at all. Fear sparked inside his chest. What had Carter done to him? Why couldn't he move his legs? Were they really restrained that much? He couldn't manage to lift his head enough to see what condition they were in.

The more he managed to focus his mind on his legs, the more he realized something was very wrong. It wasn't just that they weren't in pain compared to the constant throbbing in his torso… he couldn't feel them at all. If he couldn't see the lumps they made under the blanket, he'd have to wonder if they were even still there. He dragged his heavy arms through the fog to his chest and slowly slid them down his torso. Everything felt normal - painful, but normal - until he hit a line just below his rib cage. He moved lower, pressing and prodding his stomach, and then the tops of his thighs that he could reach, but there was nothing. He could feel his body under his palms, but he couldn't feel his palms on his body.

Fear turned to panic. He still didn't know where he was or what was happening, but he couldn't feel his legs and he couldn't even twitch his toes. He would have thrashed if he had that much range of movement. Everything was too heavy to move and every tiny movement he did manage sent pain racing down his spine. His heart pounded and two thoughts took turns racing around his brain, drowning out any attempt at logical thought. The first was,  _I can't feel my legs!_  While the second was,  _I need to get out of here!_

He struggled to move. He tried to edge to the side of the bed with his arms, while his useless legs were nothing but dead weight. Any hope of rational thinking was lost under a conflicting haze of drowsiness and panic. His mind wanted to jump up, thrash around, and scream for help while his body wanted to do nothing but lie still and go back to sleep.

Yuri managed to take a deep breath and forced out, "Hey…" His chest strained to sit up again, while his abs didn't move at all. With more force this time he managed to slur, "Hep… an'one… there?"

Of course no one was there; he was trapped under the city in the catacombs. He needed to escape by himself, but that was difficult because  _fuck, I can't move my legs, fuck, what's going on?!_ Gotta get out of this bed. Gotta get this thing strapped to his back off. Who knew what it was, but if Carter had done it to him, it couldn't be good. His clumsy hands managed to grip the edge of the mattress and he pulled with all his might. Muscles strained but he managed to drag himself a few inches, which sent stabs of pain through his back. It was like a knife had sunk into his spine and he nearly blacked out again.

He heard a door open and a distant voice said, "Oh, you're awake. You need to lie down right now!" Footsteps ran toward him.

Shit, he'd been caught! He had to hurry. With renewed energy (which still wasn't very much) he strained to pull himself out of bed.

"You need to stop moving!" A young woman in a yellow dress grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back into bed. "Lie still. You're going to hurt yourself."

"Geroff me!" This woman must be an accomplice of Carter's. He tried to fight her off, but she kept him firmly pinned on his back and he lacked the strength to throw her off. "Lemme go… what've you… done ta me?" He dragged his sluggish arms to one of her wrists and tried to pry her off.

"Shhh, calm down. You're in the hospital." Louder, she yelled, "I need help! Code white!"

Yuri was not nearly coherent enough to understand what she was saying. All he understood was that he was in pain, his legs were unresponsive, and he had to escape before Carter came back to finish him off. He pushed against the woman's hands while trying to focus his eyes enough to see who she was.

A few more people entered the room and ran toward the bed. A stream of voices flowed over his head.

"He won't calm down."

"He's going to further damage his spine."

"Sedate him."

No! Yuri struggled as much as he could without moving his legs -  _which didn't work, fuck, why didn't his legs work!?_  - and then someone grabbed his arm and pinned it palm-up on the mattress. He didn't have nearly enough strength to overpower whoever did it, and then a syringe jammed into his arm.

"Shh, just calm down," someone else said. "You're going to be all right. You're in the hospital."

The drowsiness he'd fought since waking up grew stronger and threatened to overpower him. No, no, not yet, he needed someone to tell him why he couldn't feel his legs. The feeling would come back, right? It had to. He could hardly go the rest of his life without moving his legs. He tried to concentrate on his panic over his legs as something to anchor to consciousness, but whatever they'd injected in him worked fast. His eyelids were heavier than his arms had been, and his arms now lay as limp and useless as his legs

"Just go to sleep," a woman said.

He tried to form words, but all that came out was a mumble. With one last stab of confusion and  _shit, I can't feel my legs!_ he slipped back to sleep.

* * *

Flynn sat in Yuri's room, mindlessly signing off on pension plans for retiring knights. It didn't require much thought, which left his mind free to drift to Yuri, fast asleep across the room. A clerk from the hospital had been by his office this morning to let him know that Yuri had woken up during the night, which made Flynn indescribably happy. The clerk had then mentioned that Yuri had promptly freaked out, thrashed around as much as he could, and needed to be sedated, and Flynn rapidly plummeted back to concerned. He'd brought all his paperwork to the hospital today and was determined to stay here until Yuri woke up again, so that he wouldn't find himself alone and confused again.

He had just signed another form when a mumble caught his ear. Flynn jolted around looked to the bed, where Yuri's eyes fluttered open. "Yuri!" Flynn let his paper fall to the ground in his rush to Yuri's side. "I didn't just imagine that, did I? You're awake?" He sat in a chair by the side of Yuri's bed and leaned his hands against the mattress.

Yuri flopped his head to the side and peered up at Flynn with heavy eyes. "Yeah…" Yuri managed to form a word this time, though his voice was still weak. "I'm alive."

The doctors had told Flynn that after Yuri survived the first day, he had excellent chances of recovering, but part of Flynn hadn't really believed it until he finally heard Yuri's voice. Flynn couldn't keep a smile off his face; Yuri really was ok. Unfortunately, Yuri also seemed to be in a lot of pain and it killed Flynn to not be able to do anything about it.

"Where am I?" Yuri drawled. He tried to keep his eyes locked on Flynn, but they kept slipping closed.

Flynn reached under the sheet and found Yuri's hand. Holding him gently, in case it caused him any more pain, Flynn said, "You're in the hospital, Yuri."

Yuri frowned in confusion. "Carter…?"

"He's in jail. I don't know how much you remember from the night you were stabbed, but I went down to the catacombs to find you."

"You got me out?"

Flynn smiled, but it couldn't reach his eyes because looking at Yuri's miserable state made his heart clench. "Yeah, I got you out."

Yuri closed his eyes and lightly smiled. "Knew you would." Yuri took a deep breath and lay still for a few minutes. Flynn wondered if he had fallen asleep again, but then Yuri opened his eyes and dragged his arms onto his torso. He frowned and started patting his stomach. "Flynn…" he croaked.

"Is something wrong? Are you in pain?"

"Can't… I can't feel my legs."

Flynn's lingering smile dropped. "Pardon?"

"Weird," Yuri mumbled and closed his eyes again.

"Yuri, what do you mean you can't feel your legs?" Flynn wasn't sure what else Yuri could mean other than Flynn's first horrible thought, but there had to be another explanation. It was probably just a complication of healing and the feeling would come back as he recovered.

Yuri didn't open his eyes. "I just… can't. Can't move 'em."

He'd been concerned about Yuri flipping out when he woke up like he had last night, but the drugs apparently weren't out of his system yet and Yuri was tired as a dog. "I'm going to get the doctor and tell him you're awake. Will you be all right?"

Yuri slowly nodded, and Flynn ran out. He tried to remain calm as he searched for the doctor, but he kept running through what Yuri had said and trying not to panic. Yuri was seriously injured, but the doctor said he would recover. He'd be fine, he just needed the time to heal properly. There was no need to panic.

He spotted the doctor at the end of the hall and started running. "Dr. Burke!" The doctor stopped and Flynn ran up to him. "Yuri has woken up. He says he can't feel anything in his legs."

"Oh, interesting. I'll come see him now."

'Interesting' was not the word Flynn would use for the news that Yuri couldn't move his legs. He was already completely done with putting up with this doctor and Yuri had only been in the hospital for a few days, but for now he'd have to deal with it. He led Dr. Burke back to Yuri's room, where Yuri seemed to have fallen asleep again.

"Yuri?" Flynn said softly when he reached the bedside.

Yuri dragged his eyes open. "Hm?"

"Good morning, Mr. Lowell," the doctor said cheerfully. "How are you feeling today?"

Yuri flopped his head around to face the doctor instead. "I'm not. That's the problem."

The doctor just smiled and stood over the bed. How could he be so calm!? With a clipboard in one hand, the doctor pulled Yuri's blanket aside and pressed his hand against Yuri's chest. "Do you feel that?"

"Yeah."

Burke then pressed his hand against Yuri's stomach. "What about this?"

Yuri just stared at the doctor with dim confusion and then turned his eyes down to see what Burke was doing. He frowned and said, "No."

Burke nodded and made a mark on his clipboard. "What about this?"

He continued asking for a few more places, moving down Yuri's leg. Flynn watched with increasing anxiety as Yuri had to answer 'no' for his thigh, his knee, his shin, and his foot. When the doctor finished, Flynn looked to him nervously and prayed he got good news.

"This is, of course, a very rudimentary test and a complete neurological examination will be done later, when you're more alert," Burke said. "Mr. Lowell, can you move any of the muscles below your ribcage?"

_Come on, Yuri, you can do it…_

Only the hint of strain on Yuri's face indicate he was even trying to move, and he eventually gave up without even a twitch of his toes. "Nah," he mumbled and closed his eyes, exhausted by the effort.

Burk nodded again and made another note on his clipboard. "It's as I thought, then. Well, the good news is that you are alive and well on your way to recovery."

Hope sparked and Flynn looked to Burke. "Recovery?"

"Excuse me, I should have been more clear." The doctor kept his eyes on the clipboard as he scribbled notes. "When I said 'recovery', I meant his blood loss and other minor injuries such as burns and bruising. I suspect he will fully recover from those. The biggest problem, though, is that the knife wound he took to the back severed his spinal cord."

Yuri was still too out-of-it to react, but Flynn's chest clenched and he glanced nervously between Yuri and the doctor. "How long will it take to heal?"

Dr. Burke raised his eyes from his clipboard and stared at Flynn for a few seconds. "Commandant… injuries to the spinal cord don't ever heal."

"When will he be able to walk again?"

Burke stared at him like he was an idiot. Maybe Flynn was, because he'd heard of the prognosis for this type of injury before and he knew it was generally poor. He couldn't help believing Yuri would be the exception, though. Yuri could bounce back from anything; he'd heal from this, too.

"The spinal cord cannot repair itself and healing artes are ineffective against such an ailment. Barring a miracle, he will never walk again."

Flynn didn't want to hear it. This was the kind of thing that happened to other people, not Yuri. A Yuri that couldn't walk was hardly Yuri at all. "But there's a chance, right? You said a miracle might happen." Yuri had destroyed the unstoppable Adephagos and taken down the unbeatable Alexei; surely he'd conquer this, too.

Burke rolled his eyes. "Yes, Commandant, and there is a chance that lead might spontaneously turn into gold, but I wouldn't recommend staking your happiness on acquiring a fortune that way."

Flynn had to sit down. Yuri hadn't reacted through all of this, but he might be asleep again. There was no way he'd be this calm about hearing he would never walk again if he was fully conscious. Flynn couldn't stay calm, and it wasn't even his spine that was damaged. He had always been prepared for either of them to die in battle, but to see Yuri left alive but permanently crippled was a grief that had never occurred to him. "There has to be something you can do. You're a doctor - heal him."

"I'm very sorry, but there really is nothing we can do. We are limited to monitoring and treating him for secondary complications and helping him adapt to being disabled."

Flynn stared at Yuri as a hundred images of Yuri ran through his head. Yuri fighting, Yuri dancing, Yuri running, Yuri climbing… all things he would never see Yuri do again. He thought about how much fun they had sparing together, the way their backs bumped together while facing a group of enemies, or the way they'd tangled under the blanket on that chilly night with limbs moving everywhere. He was never going to be able to do these things with Yuri anymore, but then he felt dreadfully guilty for feeling sorry for himself when Yuri had lost so much more.

The doctor continued speaking, reading off his clipboard like he was reporting on the prognosis of a sprained wrist. "Thanks to Lady Estellise's healing, his condition is stable enough that I'm not worried about him dying of his immediate injury anymore. His spine was dislocated between the eighth and ninth thoracic vertebrae and Lady Estellise didn't know how to heal the rip to the intervertebral disc."

Hearing that Yuri would never walk again had left Flynn's mind reeling and he couldn't manage to concentrate nearly hard enough to figure out what the doctor was talking about and what all those medical terms could even mean. "What  _can_  you do for him?"

"For now, we are keeping his spine as still as possible and waiting for it to heal on its own with prolonged bed rest. He's also suffering from…"

Dr. Burke rattled off a few more words that Flynn didn't even attempt to understand. From what he understood, it was something about losing a lot of blood, dehydration, and burns. All Flynn got out of it was that Yuri was in really bad shape, but that all those things would heal, unlike his legs. Flynn watched Yuri while the doctor spoke. He was awake after all, but Flynn suspected he wasn't quite conscious enough to fully understand what was going on. "How long will he need to stay in the hospital?"

"Can't say for sure. It will take about a month for his spine to stabilize, most likely, and after that it depends on whether you have somewhere in mind for him to go to recuperate or if he'll need to stay in the hospital for rehabilitation."

A thousand variables crossed Flynn's mind. Where was Yuri going to live if he couldn't walk up the stairs to his room at the inn? Would he be able to keep working with Brave Vesperia? Would he be capable of earning money to live off? How was he going to cook for himself if he couldn't reach the counters from a wheelchair? How did going to the bathroom work and how would he get into a bathtub? He took a long breath. "We'll deal with that when the time comes." He was going to need to have a long conversation with Yuri about where he wanted to live after the hospital, but that could wait until Yuri was fully aware of his surroundings.

"Yes, yes, you don't have to decide today. Anyway, I have other patients I was scheduled to see this morning, so I must be on my way. I'll be back later to conduct a complete neurological assessment and give you a proper diagnoses, though I suspect it won't be much different."

The doctor left, and Flynn sat with his arms on his knees and his head bowed. Yuri smiled at him through half-lidded eyes. "Hey… it'll be ok, Flynn. What do doctors know, huh?"

He didn't get it. Whether it was the sedatives still in his system or lack of blood and distracting pain keeping his mind fuzzy, it had yet to sink in that the problem with his legs was permanent. Flynn wasn't sure if it had fully sunk in for him, either. He kept thinking he was going to wake up from this nightmare any second now.

"I'm sorry." Flynn mumbled, more for his own benefit since Yuri wasn't really listening. "I should have found you sooner. I should have captured Carter before he had a chance to do any of this to you. It's all my fault." His best friend, the man he loved more than anybody, was never going to walk again because he hadn't managed to save him.

"Nah, it's not."

He held Yuri's hand and spoke. "Yuri, I don't know if you're really listening, but I want to tell you that no matter what the outcome is, no matter if you have to use a wheelchair from now on, none of that will change how I feel about you. You've suffered a devastating injury, but we can get through this together. You helped me do the right thing in bringing Carter in, and I'll help you adjust to your injury however I can. No matter what happens to your legs, I'll never stop loving you."

Yuri weakly squeezed Flynn's hand and mumbled, "Never doubted you would." He closed his eyes and then said, "Think 'm… gonna sleep again."

Flynn squeezed Yuri's hand. "Sleep well." He considered saying 'you'll feel better when you wake up', but he didn't want to lie.

* * *

Flynn couldn't afford to work from the hospital every day, but he made sure he came by to visit as soon as he got off work. He had never been so punctual about leaving his office at six. Considering visiting hours ended at seven and he always got shooed out less than an hour into the visit, he needed to be punctual to get enough time. He hoped Yuri didn't mind only seeing him for an hour every day, but considering Yuri spent most of his time sleeping, he didn't seem to mind.

On the third day since Yuri first woke up, Flynn headed to his room as usual. When he got there, he found Estelle sitting by Yuri's bed, silently reading a book. Flynn watched Yuri sleep with a frown; it was still so hard to believe what had happened.

"Hello, Flynn."

"Good evening, Lady Estellise." Estelle had the chair and he didn't feel like moving the one across the room, so he sat on the side of Yuri's bed. "Have you been here long?"

"A few hours. I feel so awful knowing he's all alone in here. Karol and Judith sat with him yesterday before you arrived and Rita came with me the day before that."

"Yes, he mentioned that." Flynn smiled. "I'm glad he's not alone. I can hardly even imagine how he's feeling these days."

Estelle closed he book and gazed at Yuri's face. "I feel so helpless. Healing people has always been the one thing I could always fall back on, but now…"

Flynn looked to Yuri as well. "So there's really nothing you can?"

She sadly shook her head. "I can't heal something that would never heal on its own. Once the nerves are severed, there's nothing I can do to make them grow back."

"I thought as much."

"It's so hard to imagine Yuri not being able to walk. I keep thinking that as soon as they let him out of the hospital, he'll be on his feet again. But… he won't. Not ever."

Flynn grimaced. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Yuri's going to be so miserable in a wheelchair."

"He'll pull through. Yuri always does. He might need us to be more supportive than usual."

Estelle frowned. "I don't think Yuri will like being supported."

Flynn managed a small smile. "That's why part of supporting Yuri is not letting him feel precisely how much support he needs."

"Ok." She nodded and forced a smile. "We'll do whatever it takes for Yuri. But, Flynn, how are you? I know you were very upset about Carter."

His smile faded. "I'm all right. My confrontation with Carter was… not pleasant." He hung his head. "It actually frightens me how close I came to making the killing blow. Yuri told me that Carter's plan all along was to lure me into killing him. He wanted to prove to me that I would kill someone under the right circumstances, too. If it hadn't been for the thought of Yuri, I would have gone along with him and proven him right."

She rested her hand on his knee and squeezed. "But you didn't, and that's what matters."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Lady Estellise." He looked to Yuri again and asked, "Is the rest of Yuri's guild going to remain in Zaphias until Yuri is out of the hospital?"

"I'm not sure. They haven't decided yet. Karol wants to, but they're running low on money and need to take on other jobs. There isn't much they can do for Yuri at this point anyway. Raven is already getting restless and hinting that Ba'ul should take them back to Dahngrest."

"Will Rita be leaving?"

"No, Rita is staying with me until spring." Estelle couldn't keep a bubbly smile off her lips as she said that. "She says she hates the snow and wants to spend winter in the castle rather than her snowy cottage in Halure. I think it will be nice to have her around. She's just happy because Gill is heading back to Halure."

"Is he gone yet? I meant to thank him for his contributions to the case, but I haven't had time."

"He's leaving tomorrow. I think he only came in hopes of getting together with Yuri, but given all that's happened, he's given up on that."

Flynn couldn't say he was entirely sympathetic to Gill, considering the mess he'd made with the paper in the first place. Angie's follow-up had smoothed over a lot of tension, but there were still those that gave him dark looks as he passed and several Council members still didn't fully trust him. At the very least, he supposed he could thank the article for letting him be open about his feelings. They hadn't dared to show Yuri the article yet, though, since the amount of sap would make him far more agitated than was medically recommended. Besides, Yuri's visits with coherence were still fleeting and unpredictable, so getting him to read an entire article was unrealistic.

"I think, at the end of the day, what we should focus on is the fact that Carter is behind bars. This case is closed."

Of course, it wasn't really. It could only be truly closed if they were able to put it away and forget about it, but that couldn't happen now. Yuri was never going to be able to walk away from what had happened in the catacombs. Flynn was never going to be able to forget how terrifyingly close he'd come to proving Carter right. The case of Zaphias' worst serial killer in history was closed, but the wounds he'd left behind would remain open for years to come.

 


End file.
